


Not My Queen

by Evilicing



Category: Gravity Rush
Genre: Backstory, Gen, Introspection, Spoilers for GR1 AND GR2, headcanon stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-05-15 16:47:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14794260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evilicing/pseuds/Evilicing
Summary: Syd wakes up one day and he isn't quite himself. Still, his goal remains the same:  protect, serve, and try not to get killed in the process. He's willing to do anything to survive while facing the adventures of Hekseville and the strangers he meets along the way... even if it means becoming a stranger himself. [Pre-GR1.]





	1. prologue.

"Alua...!"

The world is a blur as he feels the pain begin to spread, and then it goes numb and stays in his chest. It’s not the pain Syd is thinking of, though, as he tries to feel around—he’s on his stomach, miserably crawling to the edge where his Queen had just fallen below. It happened so fast, and he couldn’t save her. Was this his punishment...?

“I… this wasn’t supposed to happen,” a voice fades in from behind him, getting closer. He has already forgotten that he isn't alone: _Xicero..._  the reason he's lying in his own blood, desperately gasping for the air that's beginning to leave his lungs in giant heaps of warm fluid.

Xicero has apparently kneeled down to take hold of him; he can see his face now, though it's hard to concentrate on the details of his old friend’s features that he once knew so well. This isn’t the Xicero he knows. Nothing is clear.

Syd tries to pull away, but his muscles refuse to cooperate. “Xicero…” he tries to say, but only a choke escapes as he mouths it.

The man is solemn for a moment. Syd can’t tell if Xicero is silent because he's feeling remorse, or if time has just stopped because he's dying… still, he knows full well that he _is_ dying.

Finally, Xicero speaks. “I intended to stab you quickly through the heart, my friend… I wanted it to be _painless_ , you must believe me! It happened so fast… you weren’t supposed to be here…” He stops, and Syd feels him shift against him. Are they moving somewhere…? “You know I… cannot leave you here. They will find you. They will trace your death and Alua’s disappearance to me, in time. You’re a smart man, I know you would do the same, were you in my place.”

Syd can hardly understand anymore. His hearing will probably soon be the next to go, he fears, though he wishes he could just turn back time and—

“Your loyalty was always with _her_ … I realize that now, you poor fool. Allow me to reunite you with your ‘Queen’.”

The next thing he feels is the chilling wind as his body falls, downwards towards the unknown abyss below—if it means finding Alua, there is nowhere else he’d rather be... he wishes he could’ve told Xicero that, had his breath not been stuck in his throat the last moment before he’d thrown him.

 _This_ is where he belonged, because...

She was down here, too.

* * *

 

Falling.

Falling.

He feels like a plucked feather, floating aimlessly through the sky.

Everything leading up to this moment had been a bad dream, it seems; his queen is safe in Eto, probably writing in her diary for the night or preparing letters written for her family in the City. He’ll deliver them tomorrow, of course, at her request, and then their tedious yet humdrum schedules would continue until they can meet again later that evening to study politics and catch up on what they’d missed in each other’s absence. She always has the best stories from having to listen to her other advisors in Court, day in and day out, and the only way she’d learned to cope was by laughing about it with him later. He can’t blame her because he rarely had good stories of his own to share, considering that he worked with some of the blandest and most intolerable people in the Senate, save Xicero.

…Wait. Xicero.

Syd opens his eyes in a flash of despondency. Time almost feels frozen as he looks around him. This isn’t a dream.

“Alua,” he whispers to himself, though he wants to shout it as loud as he can, as if she would answer and he could find her at last.

“She is not dead.”

A figure floats beside him as he continues his descent towards the bottom of the world. It’s a young boy… a hallucination, maybe? Nothing else is clear, and Syd’s eyesight is starting to fade again.

“How do you know…? Where am I?”

“You are falling. The gravity storm below threatens to swallow you whole.”

“Swallow me…?” Syd is weak, and the talking only makes him feel closer to death.

The boy is watching him calmly, unaffected. “However, you will be dead before you reach it.”

Syd isn’t sure how to respond to that, so he only coughs, clutching at the gaping wound in his chest. “Forget about me… you said… she’s alive? How do you know that?”

“We are the Creators of this world, you see.” Another voice in the darkness speaks, gruff and prickly with age.

“We wish to help you… if you desire it,” a young, female voice chimes in.

Syd can barely keep his eyes open, let alone keep up a conversation with the voices he's began to assume are only in his head to keep him company—whatever is left of his fading sanity. “Help me…? I don’t deserve it… I failed to protect her...”

The first voice, the young boyish one, is closer now… almost within reach. “If you wish to protect her… it’s not too late.”

“She will need guidance, a light in the darkness.”

“She has abandoned her memories. They’re too painful for her to bear.”

The warnings from the voices only make him feel weaker. How is he possibly still alive…? “Please… take me to her!”

The older voice lets out a sigh. “That… is not possible. A different storm has already swallowed her.”

Syd’s heart falls. “You… you said she was…”

“However… the day will come when she will emerge.” The young boy’s emotionless words are nearly drowned out by the wind. “Helpless, abandoned, confused…”

“This is where you come in.” The female.

“We can take you only to the place she will fall… a town by the name of Hekseville.”

“How long until she arrives…?” Syd asks, impatiently now. It's all too much.

“We cannot say nor can we reveal all the answers. But you will be ready, and you will know. If that is your wish.”

“There is a catch,” the old man says calmly.

“You are forbidden to tell her who _she_ is, who _you_ are, or _why_ she is there… you will not be able to interfere with the dream.” The girl comes briefly into his vision, though all he can see is the vacant red of her eyes as she stares at him. “You must not say her name, as this would disrupt fate and cause unbalance. Do you understand? Can you hear me?”

Did he understand? His eyelids begin to close, involuntarily, as he ponders. What did he even have to consider? He would do _anything_ for her, though he fears that even now it was too late.

“You must forget Alua as you know her, until she remembers herself. It is the only way.” The boy seems to read his mind as he feels his own thoughts slipping away from him. “Are you ready?”

“Of course… I have to help her.”

What was he saying? Forget about his queen…? Syd can’t even hear himself say the words, but the Voices must have heard because he feels them all come closer. He has no choice but to believe them.

He imagines his Queen one last time:  her smiling face... her gentle yet playful laughter as it bounces off the halls of her chambers. The tears she tries to keep to herself, when she thinks she's alone and no one realizes the pain she suffers as a ruler. Her defiance as she stands up to the Royal Court, driven to defend the people that live below them. The witty sense of humor she shows him when they are alone, knowing she can speak freely because she trusts him with all her secrets. Her beautiful voice as she quietly hums her favorite tune throughout the halls. Her radiance, her strength, her compassion...

His last couple breaths are painless and slow as he feels the cold hand of death grasp at him; the last thing he remembers are the Voices, though now they take shape above him as he sinks into a deep, deep sleep and everything goes black.

 

* * *

 

 

The incessant beeping of his walkie-talkie nearly makes him jump out of his skin, or at least out of bed as he clumsily hurries to answer it.

_Where am I…?_

“S-Syd here, what’s the emergency?!”

“Officer Syd!” It's Chaz, his newest partner and member of the police force. A nice kid, really. Always in a panic though, and this time is no different. “I need back-up at Auldnoir Station! Where are you?!”

Syd looks around miserably. His one-bedroom apartment has seen better days, that much is for sure, and as he rubs the sleep from his eyes he realizes that he, too, has probably seen better days. He looks down at himself, realizing he's completely naked and covered in a thin layer of cold sweat—whether it's from this building's horrible ventilation or from having one of his usual nightmares he isn't sure, although his money's on the latter—and then there's the one random sock he's wearing, for what good _that's_  worth.

His head is pounding. Had he drank too much last night…? No, no, that wasn’t it… was it?

_But how do I know all this…? Are these really my memories?_

He fumbles through the drawers of his dresser, hoping a spare police uniform is somewhere nearby.

“Uh, hey Chaz, I’m just… uh, heading over there now! Just a couple minutes away, actually…!” At least he's found his slacks at the last moment, so he can lie with some dignity intact. "I had to help someone who, you know, needed... help?"

“Are you alright? You sound a little strange. But look, just hurry, we need—“

The radio cuts off Chaz with a harsh pang of static; Syd nearly drops it from the recoil.

Everything feels so odd, so out of place… like he's somewhere familiar and yet new at the same time.

_Who am I, am I really me…?_

As he lets the radio slip from his hand, Syd stares absently at his reflection in the mirror, a face and form he knows all too well, but… has he always looked so exhausted and withdrawn…? These were the eyes of someone who likely hasn't slept more than half a wink in days, and not to mention the dark circles and the stubble… the messy hair...

Something is definitely off today.

His eyes travel down to focus on a particular spot that catches his attention in the mirror—a deep scar on his chest, and alternately, when he turns around he can see on his back where the knife had entered. Wait, knife…?

He runs a hand tentatively over the scar and instantly feels a familiar wave of guilt and regret wash over him… _no_! That’s right!

He knows exactly where he is, and who _he_  is… these memories are not his own, but artificial ones given to him by…

He presses a palm to his head, which he’s just noticed has started hurting more by the second. The more he remembers, the stronger it becomes...

Of course. This is it. 

This is his new life… the life given to him as a second chance to redeem himself in the eyes of his Queen. He's no longer in Eto, but in a strange city named Hekseville; he knows these things subconsciously because of his newly acquired memories, given to him by the mysterious Voices that had saved him. He's a cop, and has currently been working on the force for a year since his admittance into the academy, and although the pay is decent, he still barely makes ends meet as it is, and he's almost been considering getting a job on the side. But the way the Boss works him, he isn’t sure how well that would go over—

He frowns. How does he know all this personal stuff about… well, himself? This will take some getting used to. Everything about this new life is like night and day from Eto, right down to his shabby apartment and messy, uncomfortable bed. He has to remind himself every day, this isn't a palace, and he isn’t an advisor to the Queen…

He's just Officer Syd, an alias for a citizen in Hekseville who, until today, technically had never existed.

Though his memory is a bit hazy, he still remembers well what his instructions are while he lives here, in this city full of strangers he’d “known” all his life. He has only one purpose now: to find and protect his Queen, wherever she may be. No, not his _queen_ … though it hurts to accept, he has to remind himself that now…

She is _nothing_ to him.

He can't let himself see her as anything but a stranger, and although he can hardly wait for the day he's finally able to see her again, he dreads it all the same.

He isn't sure he can do it. 

The Gods had saved him, but why? Why did they really care? Had they taken some kind of interest in her, his former Queen? When he was dying, he couldn’t be bothered to ask about the details, but he still wished they could have given more instructions.

Not that he needs them to tell him to watch over her… that had already been his duty, even before he came here. Still, he can’t help but wonder.

He only hopes that he can find her before it's too late.

Syd has no choice but to pull himself together now and get dressed. He'll worry about the bigger picture later. Something big is going on in Auldnoir, providing Chaz isn't just overreacting. 

He makes sure he has his radio, his badge... wait. He pats himself down. 

"Oh, come on..." he mutters under his breath, nearly tearing apart his room to look for his missing badge. According to his "borrowed" memories, this sort of thing happens to his Hekseville-self all the time... his badge is always getting away from him, and at the worst times, too.

When he rips at the twisted sheets of his bed, he finally sees the knowing shine of his badge gleaming back at him. "Aha!" 

He stops. There's something else in his bed, something that he both recognizes and also can't quite recall...

What is this... _thing_?

It's a strangely shaped device with a small gem in the center, and it fits perfectly in his palm... why was this here? Syd slowly moves his thumb over the gem of the device and nearly drops it in surprise. 

A twinge of pain floods through his body as he feels the power within the device; gritting his teeth, he manages to calm himself and give in to the memories. How could he forget...?

This... was his greatest invention. 

He isn't entirely sure if he should bring it with him or not, but the thought of going into town without it makes him feel uneasy. What if he sees  _her_ today...? What if she's here, and he needs to help her? This device would be the only way he could truly protect her, he reminds himself as he slips it into his uniform. 

He'd failed to protect her once before, and he won't be making that mistake again.

After one last inspection of himself, he decides he's passable at best, though he could really use a haircut... maybe a nap, too.

He practices a lazy, half-assed salute in the mirror, and then runs out the door in a hurry.

With luck, he'll make it to Auldnoir Station with no interruptions. Really, that's all Officer Syd can ask for at this point.


	2. cyanea: identity.

So far, so good.

Syd can almost see Auldnoir Station in the distance, but when he tries to beep through to Chaz again, he's greeted only with an onslaught of deafening static on his end. Something is causing interference, something big. But what…?

This town is so strange, and so too are the memories of it that Syd possesses. The part of him that belongs here considers Hekseville his home. He's content living here day by day, and yet another part of him is empty and homesick. Is that… his _other_ set of memories…? A part of him is here, a part of him is _there_... how is he supposed to accept this? It's almost too much for his poor brain to handle. His mind is so jumbled that he can’t even remember which one is his true home—is it Hekseville, or Eto…? Where does his true self belong in all this mind-numbing chaos?

A sharp pain shoots through his head like an arrow; by the time he reaches up to touch it, it has already stopped. It wasn't an ordinary headache... it felt more like a _warning_.

Is he not allowed to think about such things…? Why is there _always_ pain?

Before he can question it further, he's finally found the source of the gravitational interference, and it isn't good—it appears Chaz wasn’t overreacting at all. He sees a giant black shadow fly over the station in the distance. He can hear the shrill voices of children and adults alike, screaming for their lives as the gravity storm around them grows larger by the minute. The darkness is growing, so strong that Syd is afraid it will soon begin to swallow part of the city.

He isn't sure how he'd managed to sleep through something like this, and even more so that he didn't have memories of a gravity storm this big before now… were the two connected somehow? He has to hurry if he hopes to make it in time.

But the creatures coming out of this storm... why were they _attacking_?

Syd searches through his borrowed memories of Hekseville for an answer, but apparently even his other self isn't aware of what's going on around here. 

They're different from the creatures he's encountered in the past—even the solitary, docile ones that inhabited Eto could be tamed if necessary. The royal families in Eto were even guarded by such creatures. Of course, there were exceptions, and for some reason his Queen was one of them. Unlike the rest of the Court, Syd tried to never question it.

Panting, he reaches into his pocket, searching for the device he's so glad he decided to bring along. He wasn’t royalty in Eto, so he didn’t have the innate ability to command them like kings and queens did, but even so, he’d secretly found a way to control these creatures in a different manner.

The device he'd created was something that even Alua and Xicero didn't know about. In fact, he'd made it solely _for_ Alua—he just hadn't given it to her yet. She wouldn't admit it aloud, but he knew full well how much it bothered her she didn't have a Guardian of her own, and how much it bothered her to hear people gossiping about it behind her back.

He didn't want to offend her by implying she _needed_ a Guardian, but as her retainer, he only wanted to see his Queen happy.

Anytime he tried to stand up for her and confront the gossipers, she'd only pull him back and smile, any signs of sadness in her eyes hidden away where he couldn't see it. It hurt him so much that he knew he'd have to find a way to summon his Queen a Guardian some other way, so she'd never have to force a smile like that ever again. _That_ would show the naysayers, that not only could she finally have her own Guardian, but she could have _hundreds_ at her command, if she wished it. 

...He just wasn't sure if Alua would see it that way, which was why he was hesitant to show her.

Funny. He'd originally made the device for her, but now it seems that it'll be serving a different master. Syd hopes she won't be mad if he borrows it for himself, now that he's in Hekseville waiting for her. Maybe one day, it would help her out somehow... if he could only work up the courage to give it to her, that is.

But the question still remained... would it really work on these monsters in Hekseville just the same…?

Only one way to find out.

A high-pitched scream pierces through the air, interrupting his thoughts. It's so close that it sounds like it's just around the corner, no more than a block away at the most.

"Just my luck," Syd mutters to himself, torn between his options. On one hand, Chaz needs him at the station, and he'd already promised he'd be there. But at the same time, someone is in trouble... and it's his duty as a cop to help those in need. 

The screams are starting to increase in frequency, and Syd takes that as a sign. Chaz is a capable guy, he can wait a little longer. Someone else, from the sounds of it, _can't_. If he runs now, he might be able to make it before it's too late...!

The screaming in question leads him to a dead end. Inside the alley, there's a frantic young girl on her knees, desperately crawling away from a creature that's ready to devour her. Still, thankfully, she's  _alive_. She's probably a homeless street kid, Syd deduces, judging by her sickly complexion and tattered clothing. The defenseless girl's plight is more than enough to spring Syd into action.

He knows he has to divert the monster's attention away from the girl somehow, if he has any hope to save her. But how...?

No sooner had he began to think of a plan, does he realize that he's already carelessly charging forward. “Hey!” he shouts at the creature, and he can't help but feel it's the stupidest thing he's ever done. 

It isn't like him to be so reckless. He's used to being calm and calculating—the opposite of how he feels right now as he rushes forward, once again, without a plan. It's clear that a part of him wants to save this girl so badly that he's willing to risk his own safety to do it. He isn't sure he can ever adjust to this feeling, this feeling of being a stranger in his own body. The sensation is maddening, and every step he takes is more mechanical than the last.

“H-Help… me…” the young girl cries again. Her eyes look cloudy and dazed, so weak that she's on the verge of fainting.

Syd draws back to reach into his uniform once more and pulls out his device, a movement that seems to finally divert the monster's attention away from the girl and right onto him. _Great_. Does it sense the device's power…?

Just in time, too, because the girl is out cold now. He has to save her.

Syd holds the device towards the monster, holding it tight in his grip as he walks closer, cautiously as the creature screeches at him. “Obey me,” he says quietly, still circling in to get closer. Is it working? Well, it hasn’t tried to kill him yet, so it's a start.

Something doesn’t feel right, though.

“Go to the station and protect the people there,” Syd tries once more, his thumb tight on the gem in the center.

Nothing. The creature still has no desire to attack him, it seems, but it definitely isn’t following his orders. This… isn’t good.

It's moving towards him now. _Definitely_ not good.

“H-Hey, stop!” Syd commands, tripping over himself as he backs away. He's still holding the device high in front of him as he scrambles on the ground, and his arm is trembling in fear. Is this device… ineffective in Hekseville? Other than the color and its demeanor, this creature is similar enough that it seems logical to believe they’d be the same as the others…

“This thing broken, or something?!” He wants to smash it against the ground, but something stops him.

“You’ve lost yourself,” a voice calls to him. It comes from the direction of the passed out girl Syd has been trying to save, and yet somehow… it's not the voice he remembered her using just a moment ago.

He hasn’t noticed it until now, but the girl is on her feet, fully awake as she walks bravely to the monster that Syd is cowering under. It's as if she's a different person altogether from the scared little girl from before, no worry or fear present on her face as she locks eyes with him.

Wait, those eyes… those bright, vacant red eyes…

“You…!” Syd says under his breath. This girl, he knows her…!

She's walking straight towards him now, and the creature isn’t even bothering her.

“It’s not broken,” she says, reaching her hand out to him. “You’ve just forgotten how to control it.”

“I don't understand,” Syd answers back to her, keeping a close eye on the monster still approaching them. He also can’t understand how she's able to remain so calm. Compared to her, he feels like a sniveling child. 

“You feel like you aren’t whole because you're fighting against a part of yourself you can’t accept,” the girl says, her slender fingers tracing over the device trembling in his hands. “You're empty, and your heart is torn in two. You must accept who you are now, the  _you_  that is here in this moment. You agreed to accept this role. This is your fate. The Nevi won’t have a master who doesn't know his own heart.”

 _Nevi_? Is that what these things are called here? Nothing she's saying is making sense, but her words alone prove that she _knows_ who he is. Syd is positive now... she's definitely one of the Voices who saved him.

“But… the darkness is blocking out my ability to see inside of it!” He looks at her hesitantly, trying to ignore the empty way she watches him. “Why can’t I see its core anymore…?”

“The complications are to be expected. It’s not easy for someone to adjust to two sets of memories... after all, you _are_ a new person.” That makes him feel a bit better, but her face is far from sympathetic. “We realize that. That’s why we want to help you.”

The girl bends down to him so that their eyes are perfectly level—awkwardly so, as she leans in even closer. “If you'll only open your mind to me… you can awaken the power that sleeps inside you.”

Syd wants nothing more than to crawl away from her, but his back is already firm against the wall. There's nowhere for him to go. He doesn’t understand why he can’t look away from her hypnotizing gaze, and why it's inherently pulling him in closer. “W-what are you talking about…? You mean I can control this creature if I—?”

She interrupts him as she puts her hands up to his face, as if she's hexing him with some invisible spell. He's almost more scared of _her_ than the Nevi now; it's still hissing wildly only a few steps away from them, but it’s evident that this girl has some kind of effect on it—is her power holding it back, too?

“The time for talking is over… look into my eyes and see…”

Syd knows he doesn’t have any other choice but to trust her; after all, she's saved him once already. And even if he wanted to, he didn’t have the strength to resist her eyes as he stares into them. They’re just like what he’d expected them to look like up close, like an abyss full of emptiness—it’s like looking into a black hole and getting sucked into oblivion. His eyes are getting heavier, and heavier, until he can no longer... stay... 

 

* * *

 

 _Awake_.

He knows he'd lost consciousness at some point during their strange staring contest, because when he wakes up everything around him is surrounded in a blinding light. He’s somewhere else now, somewhere the girl must have taken him because he's definitely not in Hekseville anymore. He barely manages to stand before he hears her voice.

_“This place is made up of everything you are—whoever you're looking for, you will surely find him here.”_

Syd looks around helplessly, but there’s only the ground below him… no path, no walls, nothing but endless light around him. She wasn't kidding when she said he was empty. “There’s nothing here,” he says weakly. “How am I supposed to find _anything_?”

 _“You must make_ nothing _become_ something _… you just can’t see it yet.”_ Her voice fades out quietly, like an echo.

He wants to ask her more, but Syd knows he’s alone now, and there’s no point in wasting time here. There's nothing for him to do but walk forward. He walks further and further into the blinding abyss, his pace picking up once he realizes it’s getting him nowhere fast.

But the faster he walks, the more clearer things become until he’s suddenly running as fast as he can, and the light is starting to fade into something different… he can’t explain it, but there’s something new here.

He finally sees something that resembles a path, though a strange figure is blocking his way. He can’t see clearly, but someone is definitely there.

“Who are you...?” he asks, almost close enough to discern the features of the person's face through the thick fog.

He draws back, startled as he realizes he’s looking at _himself_ , although the only thing he can see clearly now is his face. It’s like he’s looking into a mirror, but this mirror is _real_.

 _“You must find the answer here in your subconsciousness.”_ It’s the girl’s voice again. _“Follow your heart deeper into the dream. I will find you at the end, when the Dreamer releases you from your memories.”_

Syd looks around to try and find her, but when he looks away, his doppelgänger has already ran off in the other direction—he only needed to follow him, right?

It’s suddenly bright again like it was before, and the scenery starts disappearing around them the faster they run. At least now he has a guide, even if it is a blurry silhouette of himself—it's better than nothing. This "other Syd" thankfully knew the way through all this nothingness.

_“Until you can coexist completely with yourself, you cannot help her.”_

She's undoubtedly talking about Alua, a subject that manages to strike a chord each and every time within him.  

Suddenly, his feet come to an abrupt stop, like something heavy is anchoring him to the ground. He hears familiar footsteps approaching him from behind, but he can't turn around to look. Maybe it's a good thing, he realizes, because the voice he hears next isn't one he expects.

"We need to talk."

…No, it couldn’t be. Xicero…?!

It _is_ Xicero, but only an illusion of him... Syd is grateful for that. 

Xicero walks right through him until he's standing close to the "other Syd" in front of him. All Syd can do is watch them now, frozen in place.

Still, there's something strange about watching a scene from his memories acted out in front of him like this. He can't help but feel that seeing Xicero like this, in front of him now, is just...

Too soon.

“You know I’d do anything for you,” Xicero says sadly, though Syd can see the unmistakable disappointment hidden in his eyes. He noticed it back then, too. “And... I’d never leave your side, even if you wanted me to.”

“Is this a _confession_ , Xicero?” the other Syd says with a mischievous smile, but it doesn't last. The air is much too tense between them, ever since their last argument about Alua, and Xicero clicks his tongue.

“E-Enough, you damn fool, I don’t have time for your jokes today.” Xicero groans, and his hand reaches out to touch the other Syd's shoulder; Syd feels the warmth, too, somehow from this familiar gesture. Xicero tries to soften his expression. “I’d do anything for you, so then… _why_? After all we’ve been through… why are you choosing that incompetent girl over me?”

The other Syd immediately shrugs off his hand, shooting him a glare soon after. “Because she’s my _queen_.”

“And I’m your oldest, most loyal friend...! Does that mean nothing to you?!”

There’s an uncomfortable silence between the two as Syd watches the painful memory. He hasn't forgotten.

“You're more than that to me, Xicero,” the other Syd adds, quietly under his breath. He's aware of the hopeful way Xicero's face lights up, if only for a second. “I thought our bond was... stronger than this.” But he was wrong. _Very_ wrong.

“She’s poisoned you,” Xicero snaps. His hand swats at the air to all but dismiss the thought. “And I won’t forgive her for it. Not for filling your head with nonsense, and not for... taking you away from me.”

“Xicero—"

But he’s already gone, and Syd watches quietly as his other self drops his head, defeated. If he only knew the betrayal that comes next…

 _No_ , it hurts too much to think about.

At least now Syd knows that it’s his former self from Eto he’s been chasing around all this time. The doppelgänger has become much clearer now that he can see the Eto uniform he wears. He turns to look at Syd for a short, solemn moment, and then sprints off once again into the void.

 _“His pain is what you feel when you stray from the path you are meant to follow.”_ Her voice is everywhere around him. _“When he falls, you fall.”_

No sooner had she said it, Syd feels the ground below start to crack. He tries to catch himself—he reaches out for his other self, too—but it's already too late. They were both falling.

 _Falling_ …

His descent into the unending light below seems like it'll go on forever, and strangely, there's a small part of Syd that doesn't mind the thought.

When he finally reaches the bottom, it's a bone-shattering surprise. He lets out a yelp as his body crashes to the bottom of the white abyss. He expected to be in so much pain he wouldn't be able to move, but instead, he's perfectly fine. Not even a scratch.

But from the looks of it, his other self hadn't fared so well.

He’s lying on the floor beside him, unmoving… _dead_?

No, this is only a dream. His other self couldn’t be dead.

 _“You want to be strong so you can protect those around you… it’s your reason for living.”_ Everything she says is always painfully true. _“We were happy to grant that wish for you. But now… you are lost. You will need his power and his strength if you wish to move forward.”_

Syd can’t shake the horrible feeling that washes over him, like he’s in the presence of something dangerous and inescapable. There are more footsteps in the distance, and Syd doesn’t want to turn around to see who’s waiting for him this time... though he can only hope it's not Xicero again.

“You’re _late_ …”

The voice is muffled, robotic like someone speaking through a radio. Syd turns to see a faceless man hidden inside a helmet of some sort. There's a strange aura emitting from his otherworldly presence that renders Syd speechless before him.

The man laughs to himself as he saunters closer, his posture twisted and warped like a broken doll. Syd doesn’t know what to do, so he only matches each one of the man’s steps with backwards steps of his own. Everything has gone dark now. The light is gone.

He looks around desperately to find his other self, but he’s gone now too… he hadn’t noticed it until now. It’s only him and the masked man now, and he’s getting closer.

This world is… only a dream. He reminds himself that nothing here can actually hurt him.

Or so he _hopes_.

Syd’s eyes widen as the man pulls out something from his suit coat; before he can react, he realizes it’s the same Nevi device _he_ has. There’s no way this man could have…

Syd instinctively goes to reach for it, but the man has already summoned the Nevi right before his eyes. They begin to form around him in a terrifying horde, and the strange man’s cold, relentless laughter is closing in on him.

Wait.

He squints his eyes; there’s something different about these Nevi… no, they’re the same as the one he encountered just now in Hekseville. Except this time… he can actually _see_ through the darkness, to the very cores of the creatures. Does this mean he could control them just like this man can, as long as he can see through the darkness…?

The monsters mysteriously stop moving, and Syd isn't expecting the masked man to lean forward and bow to him. The Nevi disappear in a quick, dramatic snap of his fingers.

 _“Everything you must do will become clear when you find a purpose for your other self… the you that no longer exists does, indeed, still exist inside of you.”_  For once, the strange girl’s cryptic voice is music to his ears. He doesn’t want to be alone with the masked man any longer than he has to. _“It will pain you to do it, but you must force her to become stronger. Your alter ego will make her a hero.”_

His alter ego…? He studies the strange man before him—was this _him_ in the future? Why in the world would he ever hide behind a mask like this? Just like before, his voice is stuck in his throat before he can ask, and the masked man is suddenly running away from him.

_“Even though you are split into two, the parts of yourself are equal. You cannot have one without the other.”_

Syd chases after the “alter ego,” panting, sweating… he can’t keep up with his erratic strides, and apparently he’s _hallucinating_ now too, because the ground is suddenly sprouting obstacles between them that Syd is forced to jump and dodge. He’s getting dizzy now, though he isn’t sure if it’s an effect of the dream world, or if he’s just exhausted. He knows he’s reaching his limit.

_“The future is here, too, along with your past. If you see what she must ultimately become, you might not be able to bear it. But the future isn’t yours to change.”_

That's when he sees it.

“No…” Syd whispers, finally catching his breath as he falls weakly to his knees.

It’s _her_ —his Queen—no doubt about that… but not how he wants to see her. He wants to stare and look away, all at once.

When Syd finally musters up the courage to approach the new figure in front of him, he realizes she’s frozen—literally—inside of something that's imprisoned her. As he tries to reach out and touch it, she only shatters and disappears into the void.

_"Are you willing to die for her, again and again?"_

Syd is alone now. It's only him and the girl's voice in his head. 

No... there's someone else here, too, and he knows it's the other half of himself that he's tried to ignore.

But not anymore.

He understands now. He knows what he must do, and the power he must embrace to fight against the Nevi in Hekseville. He's ready.

_"This is your reality. You can fight against it as much as you want, but you will not be able to change the Creator's dream. You cannot change her fate."_

"I'm ready," he says defiantly, because he can't take it anymore. Maybe he's seen too much. "Take me back."

It's quiet for a moment, and then everything around him starts to fade—his vision, his thoughts... and then it's quiet.

 

* * *

 

When Syd comes to, the first thing he sees are the mesmerizing red eyes. "Where...?"

He's so surprised that he loses his balance, nearly toppling over onto the girl sitting in front of him. It takes him a minute to break out of her spell, but she's still watching him as unfazed as ever.

She catches him, somehow, steadies him in place and sits him back against the wall. "You're nothing but a figment of Cyanea's dream... do you see it now?"

Syd tries to stand, tries to gather his thoughts... everything that he just saw was a dream? If that was true, then...

He searches around for his Nevi device. It's as if time had stopped while he was dreaming, because the creature from before is still here, waiting patiently to devour them.

But this time, Syd can see it—he has to blink several times to force his eyes to believe it. It's just like the Nevi from the dream... "I can see its core again...!"

The girl stands to her feet beside him, but she doesn't interfere. "You've learned to see things with your mind, not just your eyes alone. This power will help you control the Nevi and find your path." She nods towards the monster. "Use your mind, and show me."

She doesn't have to tell him twice. Syd is more than happy to finally be rid of this creature. He feels like his old self again somehow, confident with his ability to win against the odds.

He's finally found himself, even if it's just a tiny part. A small victory, he decides, is a victory nonetheless.

"Die," he commands, holding up the device, and the Nevi begins screeching... the core inside of it begins to glow and pulse in time with the gem inside his device, until it finally shatters into a million pieces. It melts to the ground in a flurry of disjointed movements, and then it's gone.

Syd lets out a sigh of relief, letting the device dangle at his side. He's barely accomplished anything, and yet he's so tired he can hardly move. Is it because of the dream...?

"How do you feel?" the girl asks, as if she's read his mind and knows he's ready to collapse. Or maybe he really does just look _that_ tired and she's actually concerned, though it seems unlikely. 

"It doesn't matter how I feel, I have to get to the station before it's too late!"

"Wait." She grabs his hand roughly as he starts to leave. "I... can't let you do that."

"What...?" Syd asks incredulously. "I have to save them. The town will be _swallowed_ if I don't—"

The girl yanks at him again, and pulls him around the corner of the alley. "See for yourself."

No... Syd can't believe his eyes. He doesn't _want_ to believe them.

The storm is gone now. But that wasn't the only thing missing in the distance.

"The _station_!" Syd hisses, and she pulls at his wrist once more to keep him grounded. "It's... it's gone..."

How long was he in that dream, and how could it have happened so fast?

Auldnoir Station had been completely ripped apart from the town. It was as if it had never existed in the first place.

"You did this," he says as he turns to her, appalled. "Is that why you hypnotized me, or whatever just happened back there? So that I couldn't interfere?!"

The girl's face is blank. "I must protect Cyanea's dream... no matter the cost."

"But I thought you were a Creator, how could you let this happen...?" Syd falls back against the wall, weakly. "How could _I_ let this happen? Maybe if I could've cleared out some of the Nevi, the storm would've—"

"You couldn't have stopped it either way," she says darkly. "There was no way to avoid this incident. You must accept that."

"No, I won't...!" Syd starts, but he's interrupted by the sounds of whistles. There's a small group of people passing by the alley, and someone shouting commands at the front of it. He'd recognize that big, booming voice anywhere... and unfortunately, there was nowhere for him to hide. "Boss...?"

It's a small group of officers. Thank goodness that Bulbosa and Chaz are safe. At least they'd managed to somehow not get sucked into the storm. But the Boss looks more surprised to see Syd standing here in the alley than the fact that he's even alive to begin with.

He doesn't look happy, and Syd can't blame him. "Where the hell have you been, you idiot?!"

"I..." That's a good question, one that Syd doesn't have the answer to, thanks to a certain little blue-haired brat who's standing innocently at his side. He doesn't figure "another dimension" is an appropriate answer right now, so he'll just accept his punishment. He wants to turn the other cheek when Bulbosa gives him a weak, frivolous slap because he knows he deserves much worse.

Fortunately, the Boss is much more compassionate than he looks.

"We've been looking _everywhere_ for you... we thought you got sucked into the storm! Do you have any idea what's been going on out here while you've been hiding in this alley?!"

"Y-Yes sir, I'm aware," he answers, sneaking a quick, apologetic look at Chaz before looking down at his feet. He's never seen his partner so worried before.

The Boss sighs, motioning a few of the officers to go on ahead of him. "I don't have time to deal with you right now, because we've got work to do. Other than those lost to the storm, the casualties aren't as bad as they could be, but we need to get a team re-assembled stat." He pokes a strong finger into Syd's chest. "And that includes you, so get your ass to work. _Now_."

Syd manages to fumble a quick salute in with his "yes, sir" when he starts to turn, but a small hand pulls at his sleeve.

He looks out the corner of his eye to see her. She's the last person in Hekseville he wants to see right now, but he finally gives in.

"Thanks for saving me from that monster, mister," the girl says sweetly, and he's surprised to see that her eyes aren't red anymore. The Voice is gone.

Syd tries to give her an awkward smile, but Bulbosa is eyeing him curiously now—almost apologetically as Syd dashes off before he can grill him further.

His first day in Hekseville had nearly destroyed him. He isn't sure how much more of this he can take, especially since he knows this is far from the end... thanks to the dream, he knows he's got his work cut out for him. Maybe next time, he can actually do some good around here, but something about the way the strange girl had said it made him wonder.

_"I must protect Cyanea's dream... no matter the cost."_

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I PROMISE this is definitely the strangest chapter in this fic... lol, like seriously, if you were able to get through this one, I commend you. The rest of it will be a breeze. No, but really, this chapter was just so complicated because I really wanted to make a "dream world" sequence for Syd similar to the one Kat had to go through, and it was so hard to get right! So I hope it makes even a little bit of sense? A few things will be explained more in later chapters too, though.
> 
> Also, I'm sure you guys have noticed I've been peppering in a very vague amount of onesided!Xicero/Syd in there every now and then, and I'm a little curious what everyone else thinks about it? You have to admit, it's interesting to explore. I think it adds SO MUCH depth to the whole ordeal with "Xicero's betrayal" and overall contempt of Alua. Not only does he think she's bad for the future of Eto, but if he had feelings for Syd as well... well, I definitely think it makes more sense that what he did to Alua was fueled by some sort of jealousy, too... that Syd would choose Alua's side over his would have been the last straw, enough to force his hand in a different way instead of just letting the Senate deal with her like he originally intended. Thoughts, comments, concerns?? I'd love to hear your opinions on this, because it's something that I didn't start thinking about until recently. 
> 
> tl;dr: please talk to me about Gravity Rush, and thanks so much for reading thus far!


	3. pandora: luck.

Everything hurts too much.

It's not a feeling of physical pain, like the increasingly terrible headaches Syd is so accustomed to now—instead its the nameless ache inside of his soul that pulls him closer and closer to the edge where Auldnoir Station once stood.

He can't stop thinking about it.

It's gone now, of course, ripped away from the town by the very storm that had swallowed it just the day before. The storm he couldn't _prevent_ , he reminds himself harshly as he bites down on his lower lip until he tastes warm copper on his tongue.

He's visited the site several times now, unsure of why it still calls to him, even after the incident.

He'd been given a second chance at making himself useful to people that needed him, just like his queen once depended on him for strength. He'd let the people of Hekseville down now, too, just like he'd failed _her._ He could be reborn a hundred times, in a hundred different forms, and each time he'd still be just as _useless._

There's truly no point to any of this, he realizes as he balances himself on the edge. He feels so lost and alone. He tells himself that he doesn't care, that he never cared.

But no, that… isn’t true. Maybe he cares too much.

With clenched fists Syd stares down at the endless abyss below, and for a long while he wonders what it’d be like if he closed his eyes and jumped—except this time, no one will save him and he’ll truly reach the bottom of the world. It would be different than when Xicero had dropped him from Eto, when the Voices found him and allowed him to start over. It would be his own choice this time.

It wouldn’t be easy to make that final plunge, but… he’s already fallen down the Pillar once. He could do it again.

" _Citizens of Hekseville, this is an important announcement._ "

Syd's foot scrapes backwards, away from the edge he's slowly teetering on. He sees people in the distance stop in their tracks just like he had; the loudspeakers in town were impossible to ignore, though it was rare that they ever sounded to begin with.

" _An increase in gravitational energy has been detected throughout the city... we ask that you take caution and minimize traveling the next few days until the cause of this anomaly is discovered. The possibility of another storm is not out of the question, though evacuation is not yet necessary. I repeat..."_

Another storm...?

Syd feels the uneasiness begin to rise in his chest, and it goes higher until it feels like there's something sharp stuck in his throat. It doesn't help that he can hear the panic of others throughout town, as well. It wouldn't be long before this became another state of emergency, it was only a matter of time.

Would this be another storm he wouldn't be allowed to interfere with? Like last time, before he'd had a chance to test his control over the Nevi, the strange girl from before had stopped him. He'll be damned before he sits idly by and watch another storm devastate the town... whatever enjoyment the Creators got out of letting these storms ravage Hekseville, he wanted no part of it.

He'd rather _die_.

No... maybe he shouldn't think such a thing, he realizes a little too quickly as he feels the abyss below his feet call to him once more; the Dark Sea is still waiting for him to make his decision. It's almost dizzying as he tries to steady himself. 

He takes a step closer, his feet dangerously close to the edge now. A little more, and he’d be free. But what about his promise to help Alua...?

Maybe she’ll be fine without him. She always had been, he'd just never wanted to admit it to himself. Why he insisted on sheltering her like a child had, in turn, backfired on them both. She'd been so accustomed to his kindness that she'd forgotten that not everyone in Eto shared the same sentiment of his adoration and loyalty to her. He’d taken so much care of her in the past that he'd forgotten to teach her the most important thing of all... and that was the ability to take care of _herself_.

And how could she, when she was trapped every day by the walls of her own kingdom? It was the Eto way, one that neither of them could question. The Queen wasn't allowed to leave the castle, and the times she was granted permission to be escorted into town he could easily count on one hand. How she hated it, Syd remembered, as she stared longingly out the castle windows any chance she was given. She was like a caged bird he wasn't allowed to teach to fly, no matter how much he truly wanted to.

But maybe now she’ll be better off—learning to survive in this new world no longer restrained by his guidance would be the best gift he could offer her, and with it, she would grow as not only a queen, but as a person. He knows he made a promise to the Creators, but...

What else can he do? Everything has been a mistake—failing his queen, coming to Hekseville, _everything_.

What small assurance learning to control the Nevi had given him was useless if he wasn't allowed to _use_ the power to help others—and of course Alua was at the pinnacle of that.

Syd trembles as he starts to inch closer, and closer…

This was the only way.

He inhales slowly, preparing himself. He knows he has nothing to be scared of, so then why are his eyes welling up with inconvenient tears? He can hardly blink them away, and they make his vision blurry as he takes one final look into the abyss below his feet.

“I’m not allowed to stop you," a voice snaps him out of his trance. "But I am allowed to get on my hands and knees and beg you to _please_ reconsider what you're planning on doing." It startles him so much he's surprised he hadn’t lost his balance from the interruption alone.

Syd turns around quickly; who could possibly have the nerve to scare someone about to jump off a ledge?

His eyes narrow when he sees an old man hurry over to him, a look of obvious concern plastered on his face. He does actually drop to his hands and knees, though it's much too outlandish of a gesture to be taken seriously.

He isn’t sure who the man is, but something about him seems painfully familiar… which is odd considering Syd isn’t sure he’d ever be able to forget someone dressed so strangely. His wacky clothing is tattered, though still sickeningly vibrant.

“Do I… know you?” Syd asks, looking away. It's embarrassing that this perfect stranger has seen this side of him, this cowardly part of him that still wants to run from everything. 

“Oh no, don't you even try and change the subject here,” the old man answers, looking up at him. “Let’s talk about you.”

If Syd thinks about himself anymore he knows he’ll lose his mind for sure. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t…” He drops his eyes to look down below, and the old man’s eyes follow.

“I ain’t here to give you reasons… I’m here to give you answers. And this isn’t the right one.” He sighs loudly when Syd’s expression darkens. “Are you _always_ in the habit of throwing away things that people give you?”

Syd turns away from him, but the old man only gets up and follows him around to his other side, plopping down once again to his knees.

“What are you even talking about?” The more the man talks, the more Syd’s head begins to throb. The pressure of the tears he's been trying to hold back doesn't help any. “Y-You don’t know _anything_ about me, I can assure you.”

“Well, let’s see…” The man strokes his long, tangled-up beard as he struggles to stand up. “I know that you’re far from being an ordinary man, with two sets of memories and two sets of goals, each one conflicting with each so much that you feel like you’re trapped in an endless loop of failing the people you care for most…” He stops for a second as Syd’s mouth drops in surprise. “Am I getting any of this right?”

There's no mistaking who this man is—Syd is certain now. This man… he must be one of the Voices, just like the young girl from before. But that would mean…

He was one of the creators that had given him this new life.

There are no words Syd could use that could make this right, no words that could make him feel any less like a idiot than he did now.

“Oh, and about that answer you were wanting… I think _she_ is the only answer you really need. Wouldn’t you agree? She needs you, Syd, and so do we. Please don't do this.”

Now it's Syd's turn to fall to his knees, because his legs can't carry the weight of regret he feels. He can’t stop a few of the tears now as they burn down the sides of his cheeks. It feels good to let them out, but he only wished that it wasn't in front of a _god_.

But the old man only watches him calmly, as if there's nothing in the world more natural than watching a grown man cry at his feet. 

"Is there _nothing_ I can do to help around here?" Syd finally manages to ask, hiding behind his sleeve as he wipes at his face. "I'm losing my mind sitting around waiting, and the other part of me isn't doing any better. I _need_ to find her..."

"You must be patient," the old man says, though he's stroking his beard thoughtfully again. "These things... take time."

"From the sounds of it, this town doesn't have much time." Syd looks up at the sky. Still no signs of a gravity storm forming, but the sirens and loudspeakers are still whirring in the distance. "Is it... really another storm?"

"Hey, I'm a Creator, not a weatherman," the old man chuckles, looking out into the distance. He's silent for a moment as he sniffs at the air. "No, but really, I need you to be patient for a little while longer. Can you do that for me?"

He reaches a hand out to help him up, and Syd is hesitant to take it... especially after what happened the _last_ time he let a Creator "help" him. This man seems harmless compared to the young girl, though—he doesn't look like he'd be the type to lure him into an alley and hypnotize him, at least.

Syd finally takes his hand and stands to his feet. "I'm sorry you had to see all that," he says ruefully. "I'm a mess. I've not... been myself lately."

The old man shakes his head. "It's quite alright! Even a worn-down, old Creator like me can get sappy on occasion, if you can imagine that."

Syd would rather not, but he keeps that to himself. "So you really are a... Creator?" It's not that he doesn't believe him, it's just that the strange old man hardly looks the part. It is partly unbelievable, to say the least.

"I sure am! The name's Gade, by the way. A pleasure to meet you... and just in the nick of time, it seems."

Syd knows there's no need to introduce himself. This man knows everything about him already. He smiles weakly, trying to ignore the embarrassment still stinging his cheeks. "Thanks," he says quietly. 

"I guess you need something to keep you busy, huh?" Gade asks, and he motions for Syd to follow him as he starts to walk away. "Let's take a walk, shall we?"

"Uh..." Syd blinks a few times before he convinces his feet to follow him. He's pretty fast for an old guy, and Syd has to run to catch up with him. He wonders if Gade just wants to get him far away from the remains of Auldnoir Station—maybe he still doesn't trust him, and he doesn't blame him.

They walk in contented silence for a while, Syd several cautious steps behind the old man, and for the first time he feels like he can take in the view of the city in a way he's never been able to do before. For just a moment, all of his pain and troubles seem faraway. He can see the patterns of architecture that span the town, the simplicity of its design, and the incomprehensible chatter of the citizens around him makes him feel like he's in a dream. 

Hekseville isn't all bad. Syd has accepted that now, mainly because he has no choice but to accept it. Still, there's something altogether pleasant about the town, for even the polluted streets of Endestria and the blatant debauchery of Pleajeune have their charms.

He's not sure how it happened, but somewhere along the way, this strange old man had cheered him up, somehow given him a different perspective of the ordinary things he sees everyday.

Syd is at peace before he realizes it, but it doesn't last. He bumps into Gade harshly as he comes to a stop. 

There's nothing interesting nearby, so he isn't sure why Gade would stop in front of him so suddenly.

"H-Hey!" Syd cries, catching himself. "Why'd you stop...?"

"Say. Have you heard the recent talk of the 'Gravity Shifter'?"

The question throws Syd off-guard,  but he can only shrug. Gade looks much more serious than he did before. "Gravity Shifter...? Can't say that I have."

Wait. 

Gravity Shifter? _Gravity Shifter_... where had he heard that before? No, wait, it wasn't _him_ that had heard of it.

It was his other self.

In Eto, he knew that the royal family could control gravity—shift it, in a sense. It wasn't always easy to control, but with the help of a Guardian, it wasn't uncommon to have a king or queen with such talents.

Alua, of course, wasn't able to control gravity, but what if _now_ she could? 

Gravity Shifter... it made sense! Why else would Gade have brought it up if it wasn't connected to Alua in some way...?

Syd quickly turns back to Gade as soon as he'd put the pieces together in his head, but Gade holds up a hand to silence him. 

"Never mind, I suppose I've said too much," he says, innocently as he shrugs it off. "By the way, have you ever visited the fortune teller in town?"

"I don't care about that, tell me more about the Gravity Shifter!"

Gade crosses his arms defiantly. "I'm afraid I have nothing else to tell you. However, _she_ might be able to."

Syd raises an eyebrow, unamused. "'She'? Who are you talking about?"

"The fortune teller, of course! Who else?" Gade is pleased with himself for some reason, and Syd doesn't like it. "Maybe you should ask her if she knows anything about a gravity shifter."

Syd was wrong about this guy. Deep down, he's just as cryptic and irritating as the young girl, just in his own annoying way. Apparently these Creator-types are all the same. A shame, really, because the old man was starting to grow on him.

He sighs loudly. "Alright, fine, I'll play along. How do I find this fortune teller?"

"Well, would you look at that." The old man's smile is still smug. "I must have led you to the fortune teller without realizing it... it's this building right here on the corner!"

"Great," Syd rolls his eyes. "But I guess if you want me to meet her that badly, I don't have a choice."

He turns to examine the building in question; funny, he'd never realized this was where the fortune teller lived before now. Maybe he did vaguely remember Chaz mentioning something about a fortune teller in town, but he didn't imagine it was so close. 

There's no way of knowing if she's busy with other customers right now or not, though Syd highly doubts she's too busy considering her services. Fortune telling probably wasn't high in demand these days.

"So I just need to ask—" Syd turns to look at him, but Gade is nowhere in sight. Where could he have wandered off to, and in such little time...?

It doesn't matter, at least Syd doesn't have to worry about him. He knows he can more than take care of himself. 

There's a sign at the door, and Syd stops to read it on instinct. " _Pandora's Fortunes - let Pandora open the box to your soul!_ " Cute.

He starts to knock at the fortune teller's door, but before his knuckles can connect with it, it opens slowly—only a crack at first—until he can see a woman's face passively watching him from the other side. There's something unnerving about the hazy blue of her eyes... something strange.

"Um, hello?" Syd says, and he wishes he sounded more confident; instead there's an obvious tremor that creeps into his voice. "You're the fortune teller, right...?"

She still doesn't open the door any further, and for a moment it seems like she's going to close it back in his face. 

"What do you think, Pandora?" says a quiet voice, the girl's, probably, from behind the door. "Should I let him in?"

Syd squints his eyes to try and see through the small crack in the door. Who the hell was this girl talking to? He couldn't see now that the door was nearly closed again. 

Or then again, maybe he didn't _want_ to know.

"Never mind," he says shakily, starting to step away. "I'll just c-come back again sometime, on second thought..."

"Wait." The door flings open suddenly, and Syd jumps back. There's a woman standing there in the doorway, alone, and she's dressed almost as strangely as Gade. She doesn't look as scary as she sounds, thankfully, and Syd relaxes a little.

She isn't smiling, but there's a certain kindness in her eyes that Syd feels he can trust. He hadn't expected that. He doesn't want to stare at her any longer than he has to, but if he keeps on looking, he feels like maybe there's something else about her that he can—

"Please, come inside," she finally says, and her twin lavender braids swing as she motions her head. "Have a seat."

Syd isn't sure what would happen to him if he dared turn down her offer now, so he obediently follows her to a small room and does exactly what she asks. He's becoming pretty good at playing along with this strange role of his, and for that, he's proud.

He scans the room for a moment; there's many stuffed toys and dolls in this room, which doesn't exactly put him at ease. They're more creepy than welcoming, although there's one particular doll that catches his attention—mainly because it's attached to the woman's hand, like a puppet. It's almost like it's staring into his soul, and for a minute he thinks that he can see its eyes following him as he shifts a little on the floor. Those eyes...

"You're here because you're looking for someone," the woman says suddenly, and it startles him. She brings the puppet-doll close to her face, as if it's whispering something to her. "Oh, and it's a girl, you say, Pandora? Interesting."

"Huh?" Syd hears himself say, and he leans forward. "How do you know—"

"I can help you find the Gravity Shifter, yes, you don't have to worry about that." Her eyes suddenly lock with his. "However, the information I give you isn't for free, you know."

"Oh... right." He begins to pull out his wallet, noting how her eyes widen once she sees it. For a fortune teller, she sure isn't subtle. 

"Here is your fortune," she says, clearing her throat, all business again. She reaches forward to hand him a pink envelope. "The receipt is inside. You can pay now or later."

Syd doesn't need a fortune teller to know that paying now is probably the best option; who knows what this woman would charge when it came to interest? He hands her the last bit of money he has, though it pains him to do it. He can see her eyes light up again, and if it wasn't at the expense of his own money, he'd almost find it charming.

Still, how could she have possibly had this envelope prepared before he even walked in? He's positive she couldn't have written this while they were sitting here. Maybe this woman really is the real deal.

"Just follow the instructions in the envelope, and I can assure you that you will find her." A tiny smile escapes her lips. "Thank you for choosing Pandora's Fortunes."

Syd looks down at the envelope in his hands. Was it really that simple...? Could this woman really help him find her? Gade seemed to think so, which was assuring. Still...

"Um, thanks, Miss...?" Syd trails off, standing to his feet. He'll have to ask about this girl around town sometime, see what the townspeople thought of her... especially if this turns out to be a waste of time. "I don't believe I caught your name."

"Pandora," she answers, holding up the doll to his face. 

Syd quickly looks away from its eyes. "N-No, I kinda figured that out already... I mean, what's _your_ name?"

" _My_ name?" The girl draws back. Had he somehow offended her? It was just a simple question. "It's..." She looks away, shyly. 

"You don't have to tell me, I didn't mean to—"

"You can call me Aki."

"Aki." Syd's surprised when she finally blurts it out, so he repeats it to be sure. They're both quiet for a minute, and Syd decides this awkwardness has gone on long enough. "Well, I better get started on this... I appreciate the fortune."

He doesn't have much time; he has to find Alua, and fast. It's already starting to get dark outside. 

When he looks back, Aki and Pandora are watching from the doorway; was it just his imagination, or did the doll wave to him?

He needed to get as far away from here as possible. 

When Syd is completely out of their sight, he opens up the letter. He's so glad he's off-duty so he can finally start searching for her... he can feel his pulse quicken each passing second.

But when he opens the envelope, he isn't exactly filled with confidence at what he sees. What was he even _looking_ at?

It looks more like a riddle than a fortune, which really, he should have expected. Nothing was ever easy in this crazy town. _Nothing_.

For a minute he almost wonders if Aki, too, is some strange Creator... although her voice wasn't familiar enough to connect her with the three that had saved him, her messages are apparently just as indecipherable. 

Normally Syd enjoyed a good puzzle, but this was ridiculous.

 _"Always thirsty but never dry", "Cold Feet", "Two words with thousands of letters", "A Flying Box", "Winged Shadow"_...

He holds it upside down, sideways, every way there is, just to be sure there's not some hidden message among all the nonsense... but no, of course not. This—whatever this was— _this_ was his fortune. A badly-written treasure hunt.

 _Great_.

Syd takes a deep breath and prepares himself. There was no time to waste. He would do this... for Alua. He just had to keep telling himself that.

"Always thirsty but never dry." That one is easy, at least. Only one thing comes to mind, and it isn't far from here.

He quickly rushes towards the square, where the famous Auldnoir fountain sits. Even though it's starting to get darker, there's still many people surrounding the fountain and the nearby food stalls. Syd doesn't see anything of particular interest, so he looks for the next clue. 

 _Cold Feet?_  It seems pretty likely that's also referring to the fountain.

Syd frowns. He isn't about to take off his shoes and jump in... he's embarrassed himself enough for one day. Aki could forget it. Maybe this was some kind of joke after all, and she's sitting somewhere nearby laughing at him.

But then he sees a young boy on the other side of the fountain, his feet dangling listlessly into the shallow water he's looking down into. He lets out a loud sniffle and wipes at his eyes before burying his face into his knees. 

At first Syd hesitates, but... what if this is part of the prophecy? And even if it isn't part of Aki's letter, he's not so heartless or in a hurry that he can sit back and watch some poor kid cry all alone at a fountain.

The prophecy could wait for just a minute.

"Hey, kid," Syd says, trying to put on his warmest smile. "What's wrong? You hurt or something?"

The little boy looks up at him shyly, his lip quivering. "N-No, I'm fine, mister... it's... nothing."

"It has to be _something_. Come on, you better get your feet out of there... you're going to catch a cold, you know."

"No...!" The little boy suddenly shouts. "I... I can't! I have to keep looking!"

"So you lost something, then?" Syd asks. At least he was making some progress. "In the... fountain?"

"Yeah," the boy sniffs, his eyes once again filled with tears. "I was playing here and I dropped something really, really important to me out of my pocket."

Syd looks down at the water; other than their reflections, all he can see is the usual amount of assorted coins, maybe some junk mixed in... whatever the boy was looking for would surely stand out if they looked hard enough.

"So let's look for it then," he says, starting to roll up his sleeves, though he isn't sure why the boy's face darkens. "What did you lose?"

"It's my mom's lucky coin... I... I can't find it anywhere! There's so many coins in there, and they all look the same!"

Syd stares at him for a moment, unsure of what to say. "I see... that _does_ complicate things... doesn't it?" He looks into the fountain again... the odds definitely weren't looking good for this poor kid. Of all the miserable luck...

"Before she died, I promised her I'd take care of it." The little boy is so upset now that he can hardly speak. "It's... it's all I have left of her, but now it's gone forever..."

There's an awkward silence now, and Syd can't even look the kid in the face anymore. He truly sympathizes with him, but what can he do? 

On a whim, he searches through his pockets—he curses himself when he remembers he literally gave every last bit of money he had to Aki to pay for this stupid... no, wait—he's got two measly coins left he didn't realize he had!

Well, _one_ now, because he hands one of them to the boy after he fishes it out. "I have an idea," he offers confidently. "You know why there are so many coins here in this fountain to begin with, right?"

The boy curiously takes the coin from him, shaking his head.

"Well, usually people throw in coins and they make a wish... and the wish can be anything you want it to be."

The kid's expression begins to light up considerably... he's catching on. "Really? You mean I could...?"

Syd smiles. "It's worth a try, right?"

It's worth it just to see the kid cup the coin tightly in his hands, chanting a small prayer in secret to offer up to the fountain as he tosses it in. He looks to Syd happily before jumping forward into the water.

Syd watches patiently as he sifts through the coins scattered at the bottom, and even though they were getting funny looks from nearby onlookers, he didn't care. It was a nice distraction for the boy, at least. Maybe he'd keep wishing and wishing until he's finally able to accept its loss and move on.

He doesn't expect the boy to let out an exaggerated gasp. 

"I think... I think this is it!" he cries, and he's already jumped back onto the edge of the fountain to show off to Syd. "This is really it...! See how it's different from the others? My wish, it worked!"

Syd blinks, stunned for a moment before he lets out a soft chuckle. "W-Wow, really? You must be really lucky, kid... what a wish."

He's almost afraid to question it—not because it's much too good to be true, but because now the boy is smiling brightly from ear to ear and there's no way he can take that away from him. At least he can rest easy knowing there's one less crying kid on the streets. If it was good enough for the boy, it was good enough for him.

He can't help but find it interesting that, just by following Aki's letter, he had this little encounter. If he hadn't come to this fountain, he probably would've never met this kid. He wasn't any closer to finding Alua, but at least he'd done something to help someone. He's glad, if anything, that something so random and trivial as a riddle had led him here, to this moment.

But now it was back to his  _own_  fortune, and he had the fleeting suspicion that he might not be so lucky.

"Where are you going...?" the little boy asks as Syd stands up to leave. He's still holding onto his lucky coin. 

Syd carefully opens Aki's letter, reading over the next clue in his head. 

_Two words with thousands of letters._

Well, that was easy enough.

"I guess I'm... going to the post office," Syd says, and though he hates to admit it to himself...

He's actually kind of enjoying this now.

* * *

The post office isn't too far, luckily, as Syd follows the prophecy's words to its location. He sees the sign first, the post's insignia—it's a bird with an olive branch, and other than a few people loitering outside, there's nothing out of the ordinary. He isn't sure why Aki would lead him here, but he can only hope this time he'll be closer to finding Alua... even if just a little.

It's starting to get a bit chilly now, and the sudden breeze that rolls through doesn't help the shiver that travels down his spine.

The winds are getting stronger... Syd can only hope it has nothing to do with the emergence of another storm. He _has_ to get through these clues.

"No...!" he hears someone shout from behind him, and out of nowhere, a bag of assorted mail flies at him. He manages to dodge it just in time, but the mailman in front of him is panicking. He tries to grab as many envelopes as he can before they fly off, but it's too late.

Oddly enough, many of the envelopes are flying in the same direction as they scatter through the air... could this possibly be a sign?

It may not have been "thousands of letters," but this is too uncanny to ignore. Syd doesn't even have time to offer his condolences to the poor mailman... he has to go after those letters!

It's hard to keep up with them, but he somehow manages to follow their trail as they fly about through the city. It truly feels as if they're leading him somewhere—either that, or this is the strangest coincidence he's ever seen in his life. 

Syd chases after them until there's absolutely nowhere else for him to run without falling off the nearby edge of town. But now that he's able to stop for a second and catch his breath, he realizes the letters have suspiciously led him to— _possibly_ —the next clue.

The  _Flying Box_ from the fortune has to be an elevator, and Syd can hardly believe his eyes when he notices that he's standing right in front of Auldnoir's elevator to the lower levels. It's too scary to believe that Aki could have truly predicted all this, but... he'll think about that later. 

This elevator would take him down below, and then there would only be one clue remaining. He pulls out Aki's letter as he steps into the elevator. 

 _Winged Shadow_? 

The elevator ride feels like it lasts an eternity, and maybe it's just the anticipation talking, but Syd is beyond ready to finally face whatever's waiting for him next.

He's ready to face _her_. 

He looks up at the sky. There's still no sign of a gravity storm, and the sirens and announcements have stopped. But now, it's almost too quiet. 

Is this it? Is this where he'd find the mysterious Gravity Shifter he's been searching for ever since he'd arrived to this town? How he longed to see her, but something wasn't quite right.

He sees a quick shadow fly over him first.

Then, a strange bird flies past his vision, and Syd knows it has to be the last part of Aki's prophecy. He runs as fast as he can towards the bird in question, trying to keep up with it. 

There's a small alcove nearby, and Syd takes the opportunity to duck behind it and hide; the black bird has landed now, much to his surprise, on a woman's shoulder. Its feet are nestled into the long mane of black hair that hangs over her shoulders and down her back like a cape... it's really all he can see of the woman from this angle, other than the parts of her hair that are stained red at the tips.

He sees now that she's not alone.

Wait, this man... Syd knows him from somewhere, but he can't place his finger on it. He tries to move in a little closer without attracting their attention. 

The bald, well-dressed man steps closer to the girl, perhaps because he's trying to be discreet. "Good work, my dear. I'm glad to see you're back safe."

The black-haired girl only lets out an annoyed exhale of breath. She, too, looks around cautiously. If Syd isn't careful, she'll be sure to spot him. There's something fierce and hawk-like about her eyes.

"So?" the man asks calmly. "Did you find it?"

The girl shakes her head. "There's no sign of Auldnoir Station anywhere below the Pillar. It's completely... gone."

"Excellent. Just as I thought."

"I did what you asked," the girl says suddenly, flipping away some of her hair from her eyes. "You said you'd _help_ me."

Syd has no idea what they're talking about, but he doesn't like this guy one bit. Why is he so concerned with the missing part of the city...? And why is he meeting with this girl in the shadows so late at night to talk about it?

"Of course, of course," the man finally says, his smile crooked. "But your job isn't done yet, I'm afraid. There's no doubt there will be more storms in the future... more parts of town swallowed. It will be your job to make sure that it stays that way."

The girl looks angry. "But why...?"

"Think about it. Hekseville's population has increased exponentially in the past few years, and the once comfortable town is now facing new problems—the more this town grows, the less resources there are available to those who need them. Even the gems that power our machinery are becoming harder to come by." He stops, smiles again. "I only want the best for the future of Hekseville, I can promise you that."

That's when Syd remembers who this man is—he can't believe he hadn't recognized him sooner. This is none other than the famous town alderman, D'nelica. Syd has only seen his pictures in the paper, but there's no doubt now. There are rumors of his plans to run against Mayor Bolsey in the near future, so it's no surprise to see this man here, spewing his agenda and lies on the streets. 

Politicians are always the same.

Apparently the black-haired girl isn't buying it either, but something is still clearly keeping her invested in the conversation. Why she was helping the alderman like this, Syd had no idea. 

"F-Fine," she says after a beat. "It doesn't matter."

"I'm in your debt," D'nelica says happily, and he bows slightly to thank her. "Do this for me, and I will make sure that Bolsey hears your request. We'll keep in touch, Raven."

Syd finally sees her fully now, the girl named "Raven"... he can't describe her, nor can he figure out what she's thinking. Everything about her is a mystery.

The bird is no longer perched on her shoulder, and for the first time, Syd can see how it shines so brightly it almost glitters under the moonlight. When it flies, so too does the black-haired girl—Syd blinks and she's already gliding through the air. He can feel the gravity around him shift, the leaves and dust at his feet shuffling towards the gravitation of her pull.

He's almost forgotten why he was here to begin with... the Shifter! No, could it be...?

This girl, Raven... was she the Gravity Shifter he's been looking for all this time? He'd never seen her before, neither in Hekseville nor Eto. But if she was able to manipulate gravity then surely she had some connection to Eto. 

And this crow, it must be her Guardian!

Syd almost steps out of hiding to grab her attention, but decides against it at the last moment... besides, she's already gone. She's too fast, and there's no way he'd be able to catch her—not on foot, anyways. 

D'nelica, on the other hand...

Syd peeks around the corner slowly to be sure the alderman is still there. Thankfully, he is. But there's something in his hand that catches Syd's eye, nearly making him gasp as he realizes what he's holding.

There's a small, red crystal in D'nelica's hand, and he's looking at it carefully... possessively, even. It's no ordinary crystal, Syd knows, because he's more familiar with it than he should be.

This crystal is a message device from Eto, a relic available only to the royal families and sometimes members of the Royal Court. This one in particular, he knows, because it belongs to _her_. He can feel it.

It must have fallen down the Pillar, but...

Syd can suddenly hear D'nelica's footsteps walking in the other direction, and if he's careful, there's a chance Syd can follow him to see what he's up to. He can't let him get away, not without snatching Alua's crystal first! 

He looks around carefully, and there's no sign of anyone else following them. Perhaps D'nelica travels alone, or at least feels safe doing so in the cover of the night.

Syd follows D'nelica through a few streets, and he's none the wiser that he's following behind him in the shadows. Even though he wasn't able to find Alua, he's at least found a lead. This girl... Raven—he'll have to do more research on her at the station. He couldn't ignore the mysterious gravity powers she possessed. And D'nelica, too, seems worthy of investigation, even aside from the fact he somehow had Alua's crystal in his grasp. Syd didn't like him, and he didn't like the ominous things he heard from him about "the future of Hekseville." 

He can only hope he can use all of this to find Alua somehow, and that he can get her out of this place before the town completely goes to hell.

D'nelica finally comes to a stop, forcing Syd to hide behind a corner. He can hear the engine of a vehicle, and of course, D'nelica disappears quickly into a small airboat before flying off into the distance. There's nothing Syd can do.

It looks like the airboat is traveling towards the direction of the Downtown district. It's a pain, but... Syd will have to chase him down later; it's not like he can just hitch a ride and jump on Auldnoir's train anymore. Surely the alderman wouldn't be too hard to find. 

It was getting late anyways.

Tomorrow he could prepare, hunt down D'nelica, and get that crystal. And if he runs into the Gravity Shifter along the way, it'd be just as well. Two birds with one stone.

Things were starting to look up... now if only they would _stay_ that way long enough for Syd to catch his breath and come up with his next plan. 

He had a feeling there would be no sleeping tonight.


	4. alias: reputation.

D'nelica's residence had been even easier to find than he'd originally thought. 

A little digging into the police database here, and some tweaking of the system there, and Syd had found his personal address in Vendecentre in no time.

Actually _getting there_ would be a little tougher of a problem, but for now, Syd's plan is to "borrow" a police cruiser from the station and hope a gravity storm doesn't decide to emerge right when he decides to travel.

He lets out a strained yawn as he finishes twisting the last bolt on what he's been working on. He'd achieved so much in only one night and half a day, but it came at the cost of his precious sleeping time. It doesn't matter, though, because he has bigger Nevi to fry tonight. 

He was onto something... something dark and yet necessary, he could _feel_ it. He'll need to pull himself together, first of all, if he wants to pull this off. 

Admittedly, right now, the only thing he cares about is the crystal. It's what's fueling this entire little mission of his... it's so stupid and childish of him, he knows, but he can't possibly leave it in the hands of that sham of a wannabe mayor. The thought of another person touching it, hearing Alua's secret message—it drives him crazy, if only because he wants to keep it for _himself,_ keep it safe. If only D'nelica knew how important it truly is... not just to Syd, but for all of Hekseville.

That little red crystal was part of the reason he was here in Hekseville to begin with. 

Syd studies his recent creation, a strange helmet that he'd designed with some help from his dreams; he'd remembered every single detail, too. It isn't complete yet, but for now, it would have to do. The strange mask stares back at him as he clips away at a few of the uneven cords and strips of cloth tied crudely around it. It isn't pretty by any means, but right now, he only needs it to be both breathable _and_ concealing. 

The fact that it's downright terrifying is only an added bonus.

He doesn't plan on getting caught, of course, but on the off-chance he was way in over his head with this D'nelica thing, he needs to be prepared for anything. He can't let D'nelica find out who he truly is; it'd only make his life in Hekseville more complicated than it already is.

This disguise is just as important as the mission itself.

Syd looks down at his watch, counting down the minutes until he knows D'nelica's rally in town will be ending. It was too perfect—thanks to that rally, Syd even knew his schedule for the evening, or at the very least, when there might be a chance he'd be returning home so he could plan his heist around it. He couldn't risk trying to guess if D'nelica took the crystal with him everywhere he went, which seemed likely considering Syd had seen him with it out in the streets just last night. It would have been convenient if Syd knew he'd left it at home for the day, and he could've nabbed it while D'nelica was doing his speech. 

But Syd can't afford to hazard even the most educated of guesses right now. There had to be some time when D'nelica _surely_ took it off his person. Hell, even if Syd has to wait until D'nelica takes a showerto bust in and get his hands on that crystal, he'll do whatever it takes.

Syd tinkers with the blinds of his windows, trying to ignore the unwanted rays of sunshine beaming into his apartment. His eyes are too tired and heavy to combat the brightness... he lazily shoves away a few of the tools laid out haphazardly on his desk, and for a minute he thinks about laying down his head, allowing himself to take a short nap. If he could only rest his eyes until D'nelica was finished... 

Another part of him, though, is far too skeptical of the idea. He needs to be alert right now, more than ever. A chance like this wouldn't come again, and if he overslept or missed the opportunity... 

No, he can't think that way. There's no room for failure, and he can't take the chance of even jinxing the idea of it into existence.

Thirty minutes left now. If he leaves now, he'll be able to stop by the police station, grab his vehicle, and then head towards Vendecentre with a little bit of time to spare. He makes a short check-list in his mind:

Mask? He stuffs it into his bag.

Keys? Also in his bag, and he'll need them to start up one of the police vehicles. 

Nevi device? He grasps it tightly in his hand before stashing it inside his bag, though he hopes it won't have to come to that. He'll take it with him regardless, as a precautionary measure. 

The last thing he needs is to get dressed for the part. Syd surveys through his small closet. He tries to search for the darkest outfit he has, because once night falls, he'll want to blend in with the night the best he can. 

He settles for a pinstriped linen blazer with matching slacks, an outfit he's hardly ever had the chance to wear—not because he doesn't like to dress up, but because he's usually always in his uniform. He's not even entirely sure where the outfit came from. It's a little over-the-top for a simple little gig like this... it looks more like he's going out on a hot date in Pleajeune than sneaking around in the shadows, but blending in has never really been Syd's style anyways. 

After all, this is a special occasion, so he might as well _look_ as confident as he feels. 

He buttons up his shirt carefully, looking himself over in the mirror one last time, even though he knows the look won't truly be complete until he can put on the mask.  

It was time.

 

* * *

 

By the time Syd makes it to Vendecentre, the sun is starting to set in the distance. Everything, so far, has gone according to plan. 

He's careful to park his vehicle somewhere far enough away from D'nelica's manor that the two won't be connected in any way, even in the event of him having to flee from the area in a hurry. 

Downtown Vendecentre is like a maze full of people, and for now, it works to Syd's advantage. He's able to weave in and out of groups to get to the next street where D'nelica lives. He realizes that the closer he gets, the more he can feel his hands shaking at his sides. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous, but there was more to it than that.

He's, assuredly, never been much of a thief before. The closest he's been to sneaking around in the darkness like this in his past life was when he was a child, long before he was ever taken to live in the royal palace and chosen as a servant. Before that, it was the orphanage, which he remembered a bit more clearly. Everything before that is too blurry... maybe he pushed it out of his memories on purpose. He was far too young to remember what it was like before he lived at the orphanage, though he imagined it must have been something like this. This feeling wasn't all new to him. He'd somehow managed to survive on his own back then, barely even old enough to walk, sneaking around the backstreets of Eto... and if he could do it then, he could do it now.

D'nelica must be back home now, because Syd can see the lights in a few of his windows. He's already looked over the blueprints of the building, of course, and the plan itself is easy enough. He knows D'nelica isn't stupid enough to leave his home vulnerable from the front. The back of the structure, however, has a small daylight basement that Syd plans to make use of... if he can sneak in from the lowest level, he'll have full access of the building. Finding Alua's crystal and then getting back out unnoticed should be a cinch. 

It was now or never—no turning back. Syd puts on the mask on as securely and quickly as possible, and something about it makes him feel much safer now that his identity is locked away inside. This mask gives him the freedom to do what he pleases, and it's time to take back what D'nelica has no business claiming in the first place. 

The small basement door has a simple lock, though Syd can only hope it's truly as simple as it seems. He's brought the necessary tools to lockpick, at least, and after a few moments of feeling around, he hears the telltale click of success at his fingertips. 

He slowly turns at the knob. He can see there's no light coming from the basement through its small windows, but he can't afford to get too careless. He waits for some sort of alarm, or movement on the other side—thankfully, there's nothing, and he takes the opportunity to squeeze inside and shut the door quietly behind him. Thanks to the night-vision he installed in his mask at the last last minute, he can see clearly in the darkness. This level is larger than it looked on the blueprint, but Syd is able to search around the area to find the staircase leading further up into D'nelica's home.

Syd presses his helmet to the door that leads up to the next floor, and it appears to be just as silent as the basement. He's almost positive that D'nelica lives alone, though Syd can't say for sure whether or not they're the only two people here. Still, it appears there's a small amount of light coming from underneath this door.

It's locked, just like the last one, but it's the same type of lock as the outside door; he easily clicks it open. 

Syd's heart is racing now. He's made it up a floor higher, and so far, everything has gone according to plan... it's almost a bit _too_ perfect, but he's definitely not complaining. The adrenaline is the only thing pushing him forward now—well, that, and Alua's crystal. He knows it's waiting for him... he knows it's _here_ somewhere.

He searches carefully through the rooms on this level, and D'nelica isn't here. Neither is the crystal, but there's still plenty more to explore. The stairs leading the the third floor seem promising, at least, because as Syd leans in he can hear the murmur of voices in the distance—maybe a television or radio station. 

D'nelica must be near. 

At that moment, he hears the sound of a doorknob opening just nearby—it's somewhere on the third floor, and this has to be his chance to hurry forward. He opens and closes the door in sync with the one nearby, and it looks like he just barely missed D'nelica. Syd's now in a small hallway, and D'nelica must have went through the door across from him. 

He takes a long, internal breath as he takes a cautious step towards the door. He hears the rustling of something, maybe papers—if only he could see inside, he could assess the situation better; he squints at the doorknob, to see if there's a keyhole big enough to watch through. Sure enough, there's a small hole, and he decides to bend down enough to look through it.

It's definitely D'nelica. _Finally_. The man is sitting at a large desk, dressed in a fancy silk bathrobe, deep in thought as he searches through various files. Syd can't see the entirety of the room, but it appears to be a study of some sort, maybe D'nelica's personal office. There's a small fireplace nestled in the corner, though it doesn't seem to be used at the moment.

He's glad he can keep an eye on D'nelica through the keyhole. He suddenly stops writing, and for a moment, Syd is worried he's made a noise and D'nelica had heard him because he looks curiously at the door. He quickly stands to his feet and shuffles more with the items on his desk, and Syd lets out a sigh of relief. He's only looking for something he misplaced, it seems. 

But now D'nelica is walking towards the door and Syd internally panics before realizing he can simply go hide somewhere in the nearby den; he saw it only a moment ago while he was hiding. There's a small closet inside, and Syd barely makes it in time before he hears D'nelica exiting the study. He's moving in the opposite direction of the den, at least, and Syd waits until he hears another door close before he exits and heads back down the hall.

D'nelica's study is empty now... it's far too tempting to pass up the opportunity to get a look at what he's working on. Syd might not get a chance like this again, he tells himself as he quickly goes inside. 

The study is bigger than it had looked through the keyhole. Syd hates to admit it, but this room alone is probably even bigger than his entire apartment. Though a bit cluttered, it's still quite an extravagant sight, fully furnished with expensive art pieces and tapestries...

Were Syd truly a thief, he might be tempted to snag a few of the paintings and sell them for a pretty penny... but no, he wasn't here for _that_.

He quietly moves over to D'nelica's unorganized desk. There are many files and documents not unusual for a town alderman to have, but there is one drawing that catches Syd's eye. He can't even begin to understand what he's looking at, some kind of machine, maybe? A sketch of a new military weapon? He can't be sure, but there's something scribbled right above the drawing that says  _Sea Anemone_.

Involuntarily, he starts to reach for the small stack of papers underneath it, but that's when he sees it.

There it is... the _crystal_. He hadn't expected it to be just sitting out in the open like this.

It's the first time he's been able to get a really good look at it, and it's such a strange feeling as he stares down at it. 

He knows her message is inside of it… it must have fallen down the Pillar with them. Her crystal was meant to be a secret warning she’d made against the Court’s final wishes—Xicero was, of course, the one who had found out she’d made it. Syd still isn’t sure how he found out about its existence, but... knowing Xicero, he always had his sources.

The crystal itself had been damaged internally, though it's a miracle it still worked at _all_ after the fall from the Pillar. Eto technology was truly amazing.

He has to squint hard to see inside the orb. The figure is blurry at best, only a silhouette of a young woman in exquisite robes staring back at him. But when the recording starts, there's no mistaking the voice Syd hears next.

“I am the Queen of Eto… people of below, you must evacuate to Eto. We will take you in.” He instantly remembers that vulnerable desperation in her voice, and it sends chills up his spine. "The Dark Sea is rising, and it won't stop until it has swallowed everything. And that is why, at the top of the Pillar, you will be safe. Please! You must believe—"

Her voice is cut off by something indescribable, probably the damage to the crystal itself, because Syd is certain he remembers there being more. She had let him listen to it many times, each time more confident that her words would convince the Senate, and each time he always stopped her because he knows how cold and unyielding the Court truly is. She wasn't yet old enough to understand how rotten to the core politics could be, no matter how wholesome it looked on the outside. Xicero was proof of that.

Syd clenches his fists stiffly at his sides. He'd done everything in his power to shield her from the Senate's corruption. But even so...

The crystal falls completely silent.

The only thing Syd can hear now is his own muffled breathing through his mask, his body quivering with something he can’t describe with words. He wants to name it nostalgia, but it's clearly something else... something stronger, something much darker.

To finally hear her once again, right here in this town… it's almost too much to bear. Up until now, he's only heard her voice in his nightmares, and every night it's her haunting scream when he lets go of her hand.

He doesn't know how long it's been since he's seen her now, because he still doesn't understand how time works down here, but the thought of one day not being able to recall her voice makes him grip the crystal tighter. 

He's not surprised when his usual headache suddenly begins to threaten his thoughts. Right on cue, as always, it's here to remind him that he's thinking entirely too much. The pain is worse than usual this time, but it doesn’t matter; this is the real reason he came here tonight—for no other reason than to hear her voice. He'll admit that much. 

He doesn’t care if the Creators punish him for indulging himself like this. He _needed_ to hear her voice, if anything just to keep on going. He can wait for her forever now, if need be—the crystal had given him the strength to say that with confidence now.

There's a sudden creak in the floor, and before he can even turn around, there's a voice behind him.

“Don’t move, thief.”

D’nelica... Syd hadn’t expected him to be back so soon. He'd been so distracted by finding the crystal that he'd completely let his guard down.

He hears the click of a gun, and D’nelica moves in closer. “If you value your pathetic life, put down the crystal and turn around.” His voice is full of false bravado that does little to intimidate Syd. He's not unfamiliar with politicians, after all—whether from Eto or from Hekseville, they're all the same... the bravado is only for _show_. 

Sure enough, D’nelica can't hide the fear on his face as Syd turns around to reveal his form. Syd hadn't expected to get caught tonight, but's he's glad he decided to dress up, considering he has an unexpected audience. He almost wishes he would've put on a tie.

He smirks underneath the mask. D’nelica will be easy to take care of.

“Who… who are you?” D'nelica asks, the gun still pointed in Syd’s direction. “Tell me.”

Syd can’t stop the laughter that erupts from his mouthpiece. “How naïve of you to ask a man wearing a mask for his name, knowing he'll only give you some clever alias instead…” He holds up the crystal high above them, studying it. “Pathetic...”

D’nelica nearly panics at his movements. “I said _don’t move_ ,” he threatens. He's shaking harder now, and his eyes are still glued nervously to the crystal. “Did you… examine that crystal? Get a good look at it? ”

Syd lowers the orb, watching D’nelica closely. He tilts his head.

“If you did,” D'nelica continues, slowly, “then you must know there’s nothing of value associated with it. It’s merely a trinket, something I found while taking a stroll. It won’t fetch you a profit in the slightest.”

“You say there’s no value…” Syd clutches the crystal tight in his fist, feigning a quick movement to crush it in his grip. They both wait in anticipation for the cracking of the glass that would soon follow… 

“ _No_ —!”

D’nelica lunges at him, just as he’d calculated, giving Syd the opportunity to chuck the crystal at him—it's perfectly unharmed, of course, because he knew that it could withstand much more force than that. Its journey down to Hekseville was testament to that.

The distraction is more than enough for Syd to reach into his coat for his Nevi device.

He didn't want to have to do this, but...

It would be a good opportunity to finally test his newly awakened powers, after all. 

“ _Awaken… from the shadows._ ”

No more than he thinks the words does the darkness begin to appear around him, but everything happens so fast, in a turn of events he hadn't expected.

D'nelica definitely pulled the trigger, Syd knows that much, because he can hear the sound of the bullet still ringing in his ears. For a minute, he thinks he's screwed up again, that he's been hit and D'nelica has won. He wasn't fast enough...! Did D'nelica... shoot him?

No... he doesn't want to die right now, not like _this_. Just the day before he'd nearly considered the thought of death comforting, but now his will to survive has grown even stronger than he's realized. _He's_ grown stronger, maybe, because right now he can't imagine himself being that pathetic, lost soul he was just days before when he arrived here in Hekseville. Back then, he was nothing but a stranger, confused and scared of the memories inside him... it's taken him a long time to accept it, but _now_ there's something different inside.

At first, he only wanted to do this for Alua, if only because the Creators had asked him to. It was an offer he couldn't refuse because his Queen has always been his first priority. But now, he wants to do this for _himself,_ too. Syd of Hekseville has grown on him, though he isn't sure exactly when it happened, because the thought of never seeing this town—or Alua—ever again is unbearable. 

There's so much more he wants to do here.

He wants to go back to the simple mediocrity of his apartment, to his lumpy, uncomfortable bed. He wants to go back to the police station, where Bulbosa and Chaz are always waiting for him with a new assignment. He wants to patrol the town, see everything it has to offer as he strolls through it again and again until it's burned perfectly into his memory. He wants Alua to see it too, to show her around and make her feel at home here in Hekseville—because if not him, who else would?

He can't die yet.

But that's when he realizes there's no pain, and he's completely unharmed... he doesn't understand, but D'nelica lets out a yelp that forces him out of his thoughts.

"W-What are these...  _mo_ _nsters_...?!"

The Nevi... they had apparently answered his call.

Two identical serpentine creatures circle around Syd protectively, and he knows now that they've saved him. These Nevi are much stronger than the ones he's used to seeing, more than just weak monsters with fragile cores. Were these creatures some sort of Guardians?

No, they were... _more_ than just monsters. It was as if they'd been born from his very thoughts, summoned from the desperate pit of his emotions. 

At least now he knows that his creation is a complete success, because that _is_ the reason he made this device for Alua, after all.

Whatever these Nevi were, he'll have to figure that out later. D'nelica is too stunned to move now, but it won't be long before he recovers. Syd knows he has to get out of here, and _fast_. These Nevi had saved him for a reason, and he couldn't let that go to waste.

The powerless look on D’nelica’s face is more than enough of a reward, Syd decides; he’ll leave the crystal alone for now. He's gotten what he came here for... at the very least he was able to hear her voice again.

D’nelica frantically aims his gun to shoot again, but it's too late.

Using his new power, Syd commands the Nevi to teleport him away, and it works—leaving a confused D'nelica behind. He watches from a rooftop nearby. D’nelica is scattering to figure out what just happened, and why the masked man has suddenly disappeared—all the while, Syd can see Alua’s crystal still clenched tightly in his fist.

It’ll be hard to pry that out of his hands now, though Syd isn’t sure why D’nelica is even so concerned with it. There's no doubt now that D'nelica has heard Alua's message, which is why he's so protective of it, but could he even truly understand her warning about the Dark Sea…? He wonders if D'nelica's behavior has something to do with his strange conversation with Raven, to keep any missing parts of Hekseville from coming back. It made sense, but...

Sighing, Syd takes off his helmet. There's too much going on inside his head, and it's getting late; the streetlights of Hekseville are bright and flickering now.

It's beautiful, this crazy town.

Syd dismisses the two Guardians still circling him. He's grateful to them, because without their help he'd surely be dead right now. D'nelica hadn't hesitated in the slightest when it came to shooting him... perhaps Syd had underestimated him, but D'nelica had clearly underestimated _him_ , too.

He looks down at the helmet he's holding, almost forgetting for a moment about the grotesqueness of its appearance.

He smiles. It had scared D’nelica, at least. Maybe he'll keep it this way.

It doesn't matter who he is—who this nameless identity he’d created is—only that he can lock away his memories of her behind this mask.

It's enough for him.

He's finally found where Syd of Eto truly belongs throughout this charade: hidden away like this, somewhere the people of Hekseville can't see him. He doesn't belong in this city, but he’ll keep that part of himself locked away inside this helmet forever, until the day he can take it off and face her…

Syd can only hope that he'll be the same person she remembers, once the mask comes unraveled for good.

 

* * *

 

"Syd? Syd! Hey! Wake up!"

Syd feels someone shaking him roughly until he finally jolts up from his sleep. He must have been dreaming; he's so groggy he isn't even sure how long he's been asleep, or why every single morning in Hekseville feels like waking up from some weird, never-ending dream. 

"I can't _believe_ you," a voice says sternly—it's Chaz, surprisingly, hardly a face Syd expected to wake up to. "How could you possibly fall asleep at a time like this?! Especially on-duty...!"

 _Oh_. He's at the police station. For a minute, Syd almost thought he was back at home in his bed, or maybe that was just because he _wished_ he was back in his bed. 

He'll never get through work today, at this rate.

"A time like what?" he asks, though his question gets eaten by a yawn half-way through. 

“You're joking, right?” Chaz all but shoves the newspaper in Syd’s uninterested face. “Did you sleepwalk to work this morning? Look, it’s the talk of the town, in the papers and everything. There’s a criminal on the loose since last night… apparently he broke into D’nelica’s and tried to rob him!”

Syd freezes. “Huh…?” It couldn't be...

News must really travel fast in this town… he can’t believe what he's seeing, but it's right there in his face as plain as day. 

_**Petty Thief Goes Up Against Hekseville’s Newest Candidate** – Alderman D’nelica names his phantom offender “Alias.”_

Syd’s rubs at his eyes to be sure he isn't still dreaming; well, he's _definitely_  awake now. There must have been cameras in D'nelica's office, because upon closer look, there's a blurry picture of the criminal in question posted beside the article—a fairly long one, at that—though really all that's visible is the strange helmet covering his identity. It's a disguise that Syd knows a little too well. There's no way it can be traced back to him in any way, even though he still wishes D'nelica hadn't caught him in the first place.

"Alias, huh…?” Syd mutters to himself. He could do without the "petty" part, but _Alias_ had a ring to it. He honestly can't believe that D’nelica went to the media about this in the first place… maybe he was even more paranoid than Syd had given him credit for.

But why...?

“Yeah, weird, isn’t it?” Chaz sighs, though he's clearly enjoying this. “Like we need another distraction in this town right now with all the storms, and the monsters… the Boss has been working all morning on the reports, though. You think it’s a conspiracy, or something?”

“How do you mean?” Syd asks, not quite following. He’ll read this article later, when he's alone. He's admittedly curious about Chaz’s thoughts on the matter.

Chaz strokes his chin. “Well, I mean it’s pretty clear this Alias guy must be a Bolsey supporter, if he went through all the trouble of harassing D’nelica like this. Especially since D'nelica even gave a speech downtown yesterday.”

Bolsey? Syd couldn’t give less of a damn about that useless old mayor. But maybe it's good people are seeing this break-in as a political thing, and not… well… at least they aren’t sniffing out Syd’s trail. He’ll have to keep it that way, if he wants to use his new identity in secret.

He's glad that Chaz, especially, hasn't put two and two together:  late-night break-in at D'nelica's? Sleepy partner right in front of him?

Maybe it was too obvious to even connect—either that, or Chaz didn't think Syd had the balls for something like a break-in. 

...Maybe he'd stick with it being too obvious, for ego's sake, if nothing else.

Syd leans back in his chair, far enough so that he can prop his feet up on the desk. 

“Are you even listening to me, man?”

Syd locks eyes with his younger colleague, careful he doesn't get too suspicious. “Uh, right... you were saying... Bolsey? Has he made a statement about it yet?”

Chaz shrugs. “Don’t think so, but it’s only a matter of time.” Syd gets the feeling he has more to add, but he’s apparently decided against it because his lips are pursed tightly.

Syd smiles lazily. “Still, it’s kinda funny in a way, if you think about it…”

“Funny?” a voice booms from behind him. Syd spins around in his chair to greet him, but Bulbosa catches him by the collar. “I’ll show you _funny_ when I take it out of your paycheck—what are you two doing in here like a couple of gossiping old housewives? Patrol duty started five minutes ago!”

“ _Yes sir_!” Syd and Chaz blurt in unison as they stand to their feet in a flash.

Syd quickly stuffs the newspaper article in his coat as he darts out the door. At least the Boss hadn't caught him _sleeping_ just a few minutes sooner.

And since he's on patrol duty, it'll be a good opportunity to gather rumors around town about this D’nelica incident.

 

* * *

 

Forget D'nelica.

There was only one thing people were talking about right now in Hekseville, much to Syd's surprise, and that was _Alias_.

He hadn't expected it to be such a hot topic, but he was practically a celebrity right now. Nearly every single person he passed by in the city had something to say about it, and Syd only wished he could actually feel flattered by all the attention.

Too bad he couldn't take all the credit, not unless he wanted to end up in cuffs and thrown headfirst into a jail cell, because D'nelica would be _sure_  to make him burn.

Alias this, Alias _that_... where were these people getting all their information? What a nuisance. So much for keeping his new identity a _secret_.

 

_"I heard when that criminal Alias attacked D'nelica, monsters were spotted in the area around the same time last night!"_

 

 _"_ _I don't think it's a coincidence Alias' attack happened on the same night as the bad storm in Endestria last night..."_

 

_"Do you think Alias has something to do with the storms?"_

 

_"Is that even possible?"_

 

_"Now that you mention it, these storms started happening around the same time Alias got here!"_

 

_"What's the police doing about it? Are they even looking for this guy at all?!"_

 

_"Who knows who Alias will target next!"_

 

_"Is he trying to destroy Hekseville?!"_

 

It's unbelievable, Syd realizes, how bored these people must really be. The power of gossip was really something else, though he only wished he wasn't at the center of it. The more people he interviews, the more ridiculous the responses get. 

Somehow, he'd even stumbled upon his own criminal-loving fan club.

"I bet there's a really handsome guy under that mask, don't you think?" one girl giggles to her friend, and Syd has to stop himself from busting out into laughter.

"Oh, most definitely," the other girl confirms. "It's _always_ the bad boys. The cops should be looking for all the hottest guys around, or at least, that's what I'd do."

"I'll, uh, be sure to let my Boss know," Syd answers innocently before moving on to the next group. Well, _that_ had been educational. 

These inquiries were getting him nowhere.

It's not until another name is randomly brought up that he remembers what he's truly here to do... there was yet another important issue he needed to clear up.

"Do you think this new thief has something to do with that rotten Gravity Shifter Raven?" a man casually asks him, and Syd flinches at her name.

He'd almost forgotten about her, what with all this D'nelica mess going on.

"Raven?" he repeats. There it was again— _gravity shifter_. 

"Ain't you a cop? You should know all about that trouble-maker! She's been a menace ever since she came to this town, just like this Alias character."

Syd furrows his brows, surprised that someone other than Gade or D'nelica even knew about her. Was she really that popular?

"I dunno what she is, but those powers'a hers creep me out. One time she almost blew away my entire ice cream stand...!" The man clearly has it out for her, because his annoyance is nothing if not genuine. "I already told one of the other cops they should be sniffin' her out and asking _her_ some damn questions for once."

Great... that must mean that it's only a matter of time before he gets the call to start searching for Raven, which really wasn't something Syd wanted to do. 

He has so much he'd love to ask her, but yet...

Where is she always hiding, he wonders? The only reason he'd ever seen her in the first place was because of Aki, and yet everyone in town seemed to already know her.

Syd hadn't considered the thought that Raven could get dragged into the limelight through this little heist of his, or that people would somehow connect her to Alias and point fingers. But now that it's been brought to his attention, it won't be long before the police starts thinking the exact same thing.

He wonders if Raven knows about his little misunderstanding with D'nelica yet. Surely she's just as shocked as anyone else, especially if she had some sort of agreement with D'nelica.

Syd stares down at the radio beeping in his hand. Here it comes.

"There's a new APB out on Raven, the Shifter." It was Bulbosa's voice... straight from the Boss himself. "Bring her in for questioning, but exercise caution!"

Another report beeps in shortly after. "Already on it! We've seen signs of the Shifter near the residential area!"

Syd grits his teeth, nearly crushing the radio in his hand. 

He can't let Raven get involved in this mess. Even though D'nelica would probably protect her to save his own name if it came down to it, Raven has nothing to do with Alias, and he plans to keep it that way. He'll have to find her _first_.

Luckily, he's close to the residential area and makes it there within a few minutes. So far, the other officers haven't made it yet, but they'll be pouring in soon enough. Syd wishes he had time to go ask Aki for help again, but there was no time for her riddles. He'll just have to find her himself this time.

The more he searches, the more anxious he gets. She's definitely good at hiding, he'll give her that much. How could it possibly be so hard to find a flying girl with a glittering black crow?

The fact that he hasn't seen any sign of her must mean she's laying low and keeping to the streets instead of using her powers; not only is she dangerous, but she's smart, too.

Syd knows he'll never find her like this.

It's not until he notices the suspicious rustle of leaves nearby that he hears something familiar... he listens carefully, and sure enough there's another sound he recognizes from when he first met her— like a strong gust of wind that stops unexpectedly once it's heard.

He can feel it... and he knows he's felt this power once before.

He finally spots it. The familiar black crow emerges from around a nearby corner, and Syd bolts ahead to chase after it. It's fast, but there's only so many places it can go while flying so low to the ground. He can only hope this Guardian will take him straight to Raven, just like it did yesterday.

Syd follows the crow into the nearest alley, and... there she is, just like he thought she'd be. Raven is ready to fly off any second now that the crow has returned... but at the last moment she notices Syd and stops everything she's doing.

He's caught her off-guard somehow, and for some reason, she doesn't shift away. 

Their eyes are locked together painfully, both of them afraid to even blink.

There's more than just anger in her eyes like Syd expected to see; there's a sort of primal fear there, too, like a cornered animal that doesn't understand why it's being hunted. She takes a step back, if only to steady herself, and lets out a noise that all but bares her teeth to him.

Syd doesn't believe she's the monster the people of Hekseville make her out to be. He's seen enough monsters in one lifetime to know that they're never the wolves, or the hungry birds circling overhead. No, they're always the sheep, the closest of friends—very rarely are they the enemies you expect them to be.

He knows that if Raven wanted to kill him in cold blood, she would have already done it moments ago. One wrong move and he'd have easily been dead—not that he couldn't hold his own against her with the help of the Nevi, but that would create a scene _neither_ of them would want. He doesn't want to make an enemy of her... not _yet_. Not until he knows exactly who she is, and what she's planning with D'nelica.

He doesn't know what to do, but he has to make up his mind soon.

Syd slowly moves his radio up to his mouth, and he notices the tense way Raven's eyes widen. She's undoubtedly preparing herself for the onslaught of back-up that's soon to follow. She's planning to _fight_ her way out.

"...There's no one here," Syd lies into the radio, calmly as he shoots Raven a quick glance of assurance. He raises a finger to his lips. "I think I saw something over at the church grounds, though."

His radio buzzes with more static before it speaks again. "All units proceed to the church grounds! Keep your eyes peeled!"

There. That should give her enough time to at least get out of Auldnoir.

Raven's glare doesn't dissipate immediately... it's not until she realizes what he's done for her that her face softens. She slowly lets down her guard enough to emote her confusion, eyeing Syd carefully through her long mane of hair.

There's shuffling outside the alley. He needs to get out of here before he's seen with her... it'd be the end for both of them.

" _Go_ ," Syd whispers harshly. He still doesn't understand why he's helping her. Is it because she reminds him of Alua? Of Eto? Of... himself?

He knows what it's like to be an outsider, to be _different._ Truth be told, they have a lot in common, because he's hiding from the cops today, too. Unlike her, he fortunately has the luxury of hiding in plain sight.

She doesn't need to say anything for him to know she's grateful, because she nods confidently as she rises into the air. He only hopes she can get away without being spotted again. He'd like to talk with her about D'nelica, but... Syd can't focus on that right now. The gravity shifts around him, but just for a second, because now she's gone in a quick flash. He lets out a sigh of relief, but his work is far from over.

Raven's crow flies closely behind as it disappears, like Raven, into the sky. 

Syd's gotten enough of a look at it now to know that Raven's creature is definitely some sort of Guardian. Just like his own Nevi, he can see now that it's the source of her powers. At least Raven had this Guardian looking over her. It's assuring to know that she isn't completely alone, because he wouldn't always be able to help her like this, especially if one day they'd have to face each other as enemies.

Syd slowly backs away from the alley, clutching at the Nevi device through his uniform, and he realizes that he's been unconsciously worrying about Alua again. It's become a bad habit of his, because lately he's always doing it... he can't help himself.

Still, he's not wrong for worrying about her. She may not be able to defend herself so easily, but that's why _he's_ here. He'd do anything to protect her, to keep this town safe until she finally arrives in Hekseville. He knows the power he wields is dangerous, especially now that he's seen what his "Alias" is capable of summoning.

It's a necessary evil, he decides, as he straightens his police cap and walks to the center of the town. Things have calmed down now, if only a little. It's a strange feeling as the townspeople pass by him, unaware of the fact that the new criminal in town is now standing right before them; these people, they're all just waiting for someone to save them. He wishes he could be that person, truly, he does... but he knows that's not his role. Even the strange Creator girl had made that much clear to him, and now it's all starting to come together.

Syd knows he can't control everything. He can't control D'nelica, or the government... or even the mysterious Raven. But there is one thing he _can_ control, and that's the people of Hekseville themselves. He's already got them in his grasp—no,  _Alias_ has them in his grasp.

But contrary to what the people—and even D'nelica—believe, Alias isn't here for Hekseville. He isn't here for _them_. They can think that, if it makes them happy and gives proper form to their fears. Someone has to take blame for all the misfortune of Hekseville, and he'll gladly accept that burden if it means he can someday use his influence to help the town accept her.

Alias is only here for one reason, after all, and that's for his Queen.


	5. alua: fate.

A new day brings a new storm, and each new storm brings new panic to Hekseville.

The police force is responsible now for keeping the people in line, now that the storms have created even more chaos in the town; on top of that, criminals had been taking it upon themselves to cause more havoc while the town already cowered in fear because of the storms. It was an endless cycle that was only spiraling more out of control each day.

A new warning siren rings out through Hekseville... a new _storm_.

Right now, the police is spread out all over Auldnoir to keep the peace the best they can. Syd, too, finds himself unable to get out of patrol duty today, forced to guard the streets from storms and hooligans alike.

The town is falling apart, and it needs a hero now more than ever. The police are doing all they can, but it's never quite enough. 

Even Syd can’t help but feel apprehensive about how dangerous the city has truly become now with all the storms and the Nevi and the crime… even if he _is_ responsible for some small part of it himself. Maybe he's biased, but he doesn't consider Alias part of the problem. Right now, the Phantom of Hekseville is the least of everyone's worries. 

In just a matter of days, everything has changed so rapidly and unexpectedly. Every day, Syd wonders if there's anything at all he could possibly do to make any kind of difference, or would he only makes things _worse_ for the city...?

“Excuse me…”

He notices something grasping meekly at his coat, struggling to get his undivided attention. He hadn't meant to zone out while he was supposed to be on look-out, but the constant tugging he feels is proof he's been staring into space for longer than he's intended. As he turns to see who it is, Syd is surprised to see the hand belongs to none other than the mysterious fortune teller.

“Oh, Aki,” he starts, eyeing her curiously. It's a rare sight to see her outside of her shop. Syd has been meaning to pay her a visit ever since their last encounter, but he's been so busy with work that there's hardly even time to sleep and eat anymore. 

Her eyes twinkle with its usual secrecy as she forces a suspicious envelope into his hands. “Pandora… wished for me to deliver this to you. She said it was urgent."

“I-I see…” Syd looks down at the familiar pink stationery. Aki—and the doll, too, creepily enough—is watching as he opens the envelope carefully. He _really_ doesn’t have time for this right now.

Not that Syd expects anything different, but inside the envelope is another one of Aki’s scavenger hunts, each line a sloppily written riddle.

“ _Red Apple of Fate_ ,” “ _Key to the Past_ ,” “ _Radio Interference_ ,” “ _The Word on the Street_ ,” “ _Dead End_.”

Syd is tired… much, much too tired to be running around looking for some kind of preordained trouble. He realizes he's getting a lot of questionable looks from the other officers patrolling in the area, and the last thing he needs is someone telling the Boss he's slacking off again, or taking mysterious letters from women on the street.

He tries to hand her back the letter as politely as possible. “Look, I appreciate it, but today’s really not the best—“

But Aki reaches out a finger to shush him. “You’ll notice there is no receipt inside this envelope.”

She's right; well, that's a new one. Is she trying to tell Syd to take advantage of her kindness while it lasted…?

He starts to ask, but Aki has already leaned in to silence him again, her lips dangerously close to his ear this time. The officer closest to him is already curiously aware of the exchange, though he doesn't dare interfere, aside from his otherwise shameless gawking.

Well, there goes what's left of Syd's reputation... not that there was much to begin with.

“You’d better hurry,” Aki says. Her eerie whisper alone is enough to send shivers up his spine. It was clear this message was meant for him alone. “You wouldn’t want to keep her waiting.”

He pulls back from her, eyes flared and unblinking as he stares at her for what feels like an eternity. At first he thinks he's misheard her, imagined every single syllable and turned it into what he _wanted_ to hear... or maybe he's daydreaming again, and Aki isn't even here right now to begin with. He blinks, but she doesn't disappear—she's definitely still standing right here in front of him.

Whatever disinterest he'd been trying to maintain through this, it was all but gone now. There's no need to pretend anymore, not with Aki, and not with himself.

Everything around him stops as he begins to look over the prophecy, frantically as he tries to ignore the deafening sound of his heart. It's leaping around in his chest like a frightened, trapped bird.

Is today the day? Is this truly… the day he'd finally see _her_?

He gives Aki one last nod of acknowledgment to let her know that he understands—he’ll have to thank her later, because he isn’t sure he could possibly form a sentence right now. He watches in silence as she sashays away just as quietly as she’d arrived, Pandora tucked safely in her arms.

“What was _that_ all about…?” the other officer asks him, stepping closer now that Aki and her unusual aura is gone.

But Syd doesn’t have the time to humor him; he has to focus on the fortune. He quickly examines the first clue.

_Red Apple of Fate._

Syd looks around desperately to find something— _anything_ —that will put him in the track of a red apple. So far, nothing… but he has no choice but to trust in the fortune; he reminds himself that Pandora... that _Aki_ hasn’t let him down before.

Everything is up to him now. Everything hangs in the balance of finding her.

No sooner than he turns around to look in the other direction does something red pass by the corner of his eye—an apple! Looks like the fortune is right on target, as always.

It's rolling down the path so fast that if he doesn't go after it soon, it’ll be gone for good. With no further qualms about abandoning his post, Syd dashes after the runaway apple.

“Hey! Syd! Where are you going?!”

He doesn’t even hear the officers' barrage of questions as he speeds past them like a man on fire. No one exists but him and the apple right now.

He runs as fast as he can, but there's no way he can catch it—how is it moving so fast? When it finally turns a corner, he sees it disappear off the ledge of a platform.

“No…!” Syd crashes against the railing. Even though it's fallen below, he thankfully still has his eyes on it. If he takes the stairs down towards the lower quarters, he might be able to catch up with it.

The apple gracefully descends from floor to floor as it falls, and Syd is hot on its trail a couple of layers above. The sky is starting to darken considerably—the gravity storm they’d been expecting must be finally making its presence known because the atmosphere is already changing. The wind is picking up nearby scraps of litter as it passes through the streets of Auldnoir. 

The apple is headed for the lowest part of the slums now. If he wants to catch up with it now, he’ll have to take the gateway down to the lower tunnels to meet up with it.

He isn’t too familiar with this part of town, and he doesn’t like the idea of having to take his eyes off the apple, even if just for a minute, but that’s the only way he’ll be able to get to it when it finally lands down below.

He just hopes it'll still be there when he makes it.

People are running past Syd in a hurry, the panic he knows comes along with the presence of a storm. Everyone around him is pushing and shoving each other to desperately get away from the area he's currently headed towards. He's happy no one stops him to ask for help—maybe he blends in with the crowd—and somehow, he's finally made it to the lower gateway without losing too much time.

He can see it… the apple! It's right in the center of the small slum park below, almost hidden by the dead branches of a small tree in the middle.

Just a few more flights of stairs, and he’ll be able to take it. He hasn’t looked to remind himself what the next clue is, but he'll check when he knows that he finally has the apple safe in his hands.

Syd collapses to his knees when he finally gets there. He’s never been so happy to see an apple in his entire life. Panting, he holds it up, searching it—for what, he isn't sure, but it's clearly just an ordinary apple. He almost hoped something more exciting would be waiting here for him…

Still, it's a start. He takes a look at the next clue. “ _A Key to the Past_?”

“Hm?” Wait, something is shining close to the nearby tree, glittering out of the corner of his eye… Syd crawls over to investigate.

It's… a key.

His eyes widen when he realizes exactly what it is he's holding: this is…

He recognizes the insignia, the gem, _all_ of it… it's undoubtedly from Eto. It belongs to her…! How can this be, Syd wonders, looking around desperately for an answer? He’s found Alua’s key, but no Alua… still, this is proof that she—

_Beep beep! Beep beep!_

Syd growls; the noise startles him, but he discovers soon enough that it's only his radio. He doesn’t have time for his job right now. His search for the clues is far more important than standing around—

Wait a minute.

He unravels Aki’s fortune once more, making sure to safely stash away the key inside his pocket. He'll hold on to it so that he can return it to Alua later.

“ _Radio Interference_ ,” the letter says. The device he's holding in his hand is definitely a radio, and it's _definitely_ interfering… maybe answering it is part of his instructions? It made sense.

Standing to his feet, Syd hesitantly answers it. “Syd here.”

“We’ve just received report of suspicious activity near the abandoned factory on the east side of town… we’ve got our hands full taking care of the aftermath of this storm that just broke out! Can we have someone investigate? Over!”

Suspicious activity…?

Oh no. Syd's almost forgotten how unwelcome outsiders are around here. He thinks about Raven, and all the townspeople he knows that view her as a threat because she's different. Especially with the way things were right now... if someone finds Alua before he does, and she manages to get herself into trouble…

“I’m on it, over and out,” he says into the radio, ready to make his way back up to town once again. He’ll have to backtrack all those stairs, and fast.

The closer he gets, the more tense he becomes. What will he do when he sees her, what can he even say? If her memories are unclear, she won’t have any idea what was going on around her. She won’t know him, and she won’t even know _herself_. She’d be scared, defenseless… _alone_. It'll be his responsibility to protect her now that she's here, but he doesn't know if he can do it, now that's she's finally here and the odds are against him.

While he heads towards the area in question, he pulls out the fortune once again. He double-checks about what's next, to be safe. “ _The Word on the Street_.”

The word on the street…? Maybe it means he has to ask the people nearby about what's been going on in the area once he gets there. He isn’t sure. Knowing Aki, though, it’ll be painfully obvious once he arrives.

Finally… the abandoned factory they’d told him about was in sight. He knows he has to be especially careful here, because cops aren’t exactly known for coming by these parts without a reason. Especially alone, without back-up. If she really is here… she’d really picked a bad part of town to wander into.

Syd examines the area thoroughly. It's almost _too_ quiet around here. How is he supposed to figure out the next clue this way, when no one's even around to ask?

 _The Word on the Street_ …

Wait. Syd treks further down the path. There's something on the ground he can’t see unless he goes closer.

Upon further inspection, it's only a broken-down sign—the thing has nearly been torn in half, too. Whatever it once said is now only a single word.

Word… word…?

The word on the street! This broken word is the next clue! Syd didn’t know how Aki did it. It was terrifying.

The word had been torn in two, maybe it once said something about a turn… turn something? "Turn" is all Syd can make out of it. On instinct, he decides to turn around and look behind him.

He gasps. There's someone there who hadn’t been there before, a man who looks suspiciously like he's trying to sneak up on Syd. He's up to something, but what, exactly?

“Hey!” Syd shouts, and the man takes off in the opposite direction. He has no choice but to chase after him, especially if he's connected to the next clue. Syd can’t remember what it was without having to check again. He hopes taking his eyes off for the thug for one second won’t matter.

The next clue was “Dead End.”

Did it mean to chase this guy into a dead end…? Syd doesn't like the sound of that. He’ll do it if that’s what it takes, but he can’t help but feel like this thug knows exactly where he's going—as if he's leading Syd somewhere. Still, if he wants to catch him, this is the only way. Besides, the thought of a shady criminal like this running free on the streets with a defenseless Alua wandering around made his blood boil. He knows he'd never be able to forgive himself if a thug like this ever took advantage of her, or hurt her in any way.

Syd's never ran so much in his life as he has today. He can’t help but feel relieved when he finally sees that the road straight ahead curves into the end of a path—a dead end, of sorts. It’ll be hard for the thug to get away from him here. Does he realize it yet…? He's still running, and Syd is right behind him.

Wait…

As soon as they reach the end, Syd sees movement around the buildings nearby; there's another thug now—no—two thugs… that made three in total now.

Great—it's a trap, after all. They'd clearly planned this; Syd knows he should have known better, but what choice did he have if he wanted to find her?! Unless he read Aki’s prophecies wrong, he’s followed it down to every last detail—not that it was very thorough to begin with, but…

The thugs move in on him now, close enough that he can see the large metal pipes they hold in their hands. He doesn’t have enough time to draw a weapon in such close range, and there's no way he’ll be able to reason with them. It's all happening so fast… it was over for him.

“Don’t even think about calling for back-up,” one of the thugs laugh at him, taking a quick swing at him. “You got some nerve coming into our territory.”

Syd manages to dodge the swing, but the movement causes him to lose his balance. He grits his teeth as he falls roughly to his knees, and the thugs move in even closer once they see he's vulnerable and possibly wounded. For once in his life, Syd is all out of bright ideas.

For a split second, he considers fighting back—it would be worth a try. He's trained enough in combat to fight hand-to-hand, but he doubts he can take many hits from those pipes. Not to mention the fact that he's outnumbered. He considers calling forth his Nevi to fight for him—that’d be too easy, of course, and the thugs wouldn't have known what hit them.

But this isn't a fight for Alias... it's a fight for _Syd_.

More than anything right now, he only wants to see _her_. He knows he should be doing something to get out of here and saving himself first, but he hasn’t gotten what he came here for. He can’t just… _leave_ here without her. He believes in Aki’s fortunes, and he believes that its guidance would help him find her. So why isn’t she here?!

That’s when Syd realizes that while he cowers and waits for the next blow to hit him, something has happened. He hears one of the thugs let out a cry, and then another...

“Hyahhhh!”

Syd can feel his face go pale, and everything stops. He doesn't have to even turn around to know who that voice belongs to…

It's her. It's really _her_.

For a second, he worries that she's going to get hurt, that's she's no match for them, but no. She's so amazing, and... so strong. He's beyond speechless as he watches her fight off the men so effortlessly. She snaps each of them like twigs.

But… it isn’t the girl he expected her to be, the Queen he remembers. No, she's someone else completely now.

He hadn't expected that instead of coming to _her_ rescue, she would be the one to save _him_. 

It's almost funny, that the gods arranged for them to meet like this. It's fitting. She's his savior now. 

She stands tall—regal, even—above the thugs beaten and unconscious around her. As she looks him straight in the eye, he almost loses it. It's the ultimate test—everything he’s gone through in Hekseville comes down to this moment. He knows that now, as he holds back the thoughts he isn’t allowed to have, and the pain he feels as the hidden Alias inside of him struggles to get free, to get control of this moment and take it for his own. Every fiber of his being wants to run to her, to tell her what he’s been through—to just be able to call her by her name and never leave her side again would be enough.

 _Alua_ …

No. He isn't allowed to call her that.

She doesn't know him anymore... not like he knows _her_.

The Creators warned him about this, how everything he wants to do right now is forbidden. Still, they tell him that he always has a choice. What would truly happen if he makes the _wrong_ one…? If he were to tell her who she really is, where she came from—would she even believe him? Are the Creators watching him, right now? Would they interfere, strike him down before the words left his mouth?

No, they've helped him more times than he can count. He is in their debt, and it's a debt he intends on paying in full one day. To betray them now would be unspeakable... he'd be no better than Xicero. They chose him for a reason, and that reason is the only chance he has at being a part of Alua's journey, to help her become stronger so that she can return to Eto and take back her throne. There's really no greater honor, Syd reminds himself proudly; it was his duty in Eto, and now it's his duty once again in Hekseville.

Still, he'll have to choose his next move carefully, although deep down, he's always known what he must do.

He'll cast his own feelings aside. He can't be selfish now, this isn't about him. It never was.

It's always been about _her_.

Syd's eyes well up with tears. He's sorry. Sorry to himself, to Alias, to Alua…

He somehow forces himself to smile, and the words come out on their own. “Y-You came just in time! I was chasing one of those thugs when I got surrounded and I—well, you were amazing.” He can’t look at her any longer, it hurts too much. “…but who are you?”


End file.
